


Amnesia

by SpiderMansUnfriendlyNeighbor



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Action/Adventure, Amnesia, Anakin Skywalker Is A Mess, Anakin Skywalker Needs a Hug, Anakin Skywalker is Confused, Angst, At least he thinks he is, Canon-Typical Violence, Confused Luke, Gen, Human Disaster Anakin Skywalker, Humor, Knight Anakin Skywalker, Luke Skywalker Needs A Hug, Manipulative Sheev Palpatine, Mon Mothma Knows Who Darth Vader is, Parent Anakin Skywalker, R2-D2 can't be stopped, Skywalker Family Drama, Vader has Amnesia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-11
Updated: 2020-08-05
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:01:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 22,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23598766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpiderMansUnfriendlyNeighbor/pseuds/SpiderMansUnfriendlyNeighbor
Summary: Darth Vader, the Empire's chief enforcer, has gone missing following the Battle of Yavin. On a completely unrelated note, Anakin Skywalker has crashed on Yavin IV badly injured. He's not sure how much time he's missing from his memories, but the amnesia can't be that bad. Right?
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker & Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa & Anakin Skywalker, Leia Organa & Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa & Luke Skywalker & Han Solo, Leia Organa/Han Solo, Mara Jade/Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 380
Kudos: 475
Collections: SW Especially Satisfying Stories





	1. Crash Landing

_“Ani…something wonderful has happened…I’m pregnant.”_

The words bounced around in Anakin’s head, not fully registering. He had been in the Senate, talking with Padme. She had given him the most wonderful news of his life.

Pain stabbed up his back. He gasped. He didn’t breathe in clean air but the hiss of a respirator. His eyes popped open. Red lenses swam before him, as if he had fallen asleep with some sort of night vision goggles on him. Had he been on a mission and been injured?

An incessant beeping imposed itself upon him. Several alarms were going off. He forced himself to lift his pounding head and look around. An unfamiliar cockpit surrounded him. He wasn’t in his beloved starfighter, but somewhere else. The console was crunched down on his legs, which surprisingly didn’t hurt as much as he would’ve thought. And _ohmygoodnessohmygoodness_ it was on fire.

Anakin reached for the Force and ripped the ship open, not bothering with preserving this mysterious ship he had found himself in. The sooner he could get out of it, the better. He didn’t want it to explode with him in it. He wrenched the wreckage off his legs and scrambled out of the hole he’d created into a dense jungle. Pain swam through his head, and he collapsed to his hands and knees. He stared at his hands, splayed before him. Both of them were clothed in heavy black gloves. His arms were clad in heavy black armor, not his typical dark Jedi tunics. His head was trapped in some sort of heavy helmet with a respirator forcing him to breathe in and out. What was happening to him? What had happened?

Never mind that. He still wasn’t far enough away from the ship. He crawled away among the clinging underbrush until the ship was hidden by the trees. He collapsed and leaned against a tree, gasping for breath, despite the harsh rasp of the respirator. His head pounded, his back stabbed, his hands trembled—his hands.

He was used to the reduced feeling in his right, robotic hand. He wasn’t used to feeling it in his left hand as well. He reached over and pulled off his left glove.

His left hand was robotic.

His heart beat crazy fast. Even with the respirator, he struggled to get a steadying breath. He didn’t remember losing his left arm. He had had a left hand last he remembered, standing in the Senate with Padme. What was going on? _What am I missing?_

Amnesia. It had to be. He was in an accident— _duh, I was in a ship crash_ —and hurt his head. Lost his memory.

An explosion rocked through the jungle. Fire burst through the trees Anakin was staring at, but didn’t quite reach him. He put his head down and drifted for a while. Clambering out of the ruins of the ship had exhausted him. Finally, he gathered his strength and sat up. Pain stabbed through his back, but he funneled the pain through the Force. His legs ached, but considering they had been under a crushed control panel, honestly not too bad. Or perhaps he had just been trapped and not crushed.

Still, better to make sure they were fine. It’s what Obi-Wan would do. His legs were clad in more of that heavy black armor and some black boots. At last, something familiar about this odd garb. He pulled off the boots.

Oh, stang.

So apparently he had been in an accident where he had lost all of his limbs. _Fantastic._ He pulled his boots and his glove back on.

He continued his examination of himself. There was a-was that a control panel in the middle of his chest?

Probably for this stupid helmet controlling his breathing. What had happened to him to require this?

_I hope this is just my battle gear and I usually wear something much more comfortable._ He reached for the helmet to take it off and breathe the fresh air on his own.

**_NO!_** The Force practically screamed at him. His breath hitched and he let his hands drop. He’d never in his life been in so much danger the Force vocalized to scream at him before, and for Anakin “Reckless” Skywalker, that was saying a lot. Better to just let the Force have its way.

Lightsaber. Where was his lightsaber—oh, crap. A lightsaber hung on his belt, but it didn’t remotely resemble his. He pulled it off and activated it, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in his heart. The blade was red.

Anakin deactivated the lightsaber and clipped it back to his belt, closing his eyes in despair. He had lost his lightsaber. Again. He must have won a battle with a Sith Lord (maybe Dooku’s master?) and put their lightsaber on his belt, since he must have lost his during the duel. At least, he hoped that was how he lost it, and not in some other, more embarrassing way. “Obi-Wan is going to kill me.”

Was…was that his voice? What in the galaxy? Why in heavens name was he wearing a vocalizer that made his voice a deep bass? Was he trying to sound intimidating? Wouldn’t Master Yoda call that a path to the Dark Side?

Ugh. Best to figure out where he was and how to get home and push off dealing with the amnesia till later. He stood up, stumbling against the tree as pain stabbed through him again. He regained his strength, pushing the pain away in the Force, and examined the jungle.

Even through the red film, he knew almost immediately where he was. Yavin 4. He had defeated Asajj Ventress here. If only he’d made sure she was dead…

_Keep your mind on the present, Anakin._ Obi-Wan’s insistent voice butted in. Great, he’d been around him so long, he was thinking like Obi-Wan now. Nevertheless, he recognized this place, and, if he wasn’t mistaken, and he rarely was, he was very near a temple he could take refuge in to rest until he sorted his head out a little more.

Thankfully, the Messassi Temple wasn’t very far, because by the time Anakin reached it, his legs were trembling, his back was throbbing, and he could barely stand up. Unfortunately, as soon as he left the tree line, he realized somebody had already taken over the temple. A bunch of unfamiliar ships filled the space outside the abandoned hangar. Was it the Separatists? The Republic? Smugglers?

Probably smugglers. Although it looked like the small fighter ships contained guns…

He spotted people walking around the base, a lot of people, and very few droids. That meant it couldn’t be the Separatists. Either the Republic or a group of smugglers, then. Given that he was about to collapse again, it wouldn’t hurt to go check them out. Maybe he could even get a ride off planet.

He strode forward, drawing on the Force to steady the wobble in his step. Kix would kill him for brushing off his injuries like this, but it wasn’t like he had the luxury of stopping to seek help. Never mind, he was seeking help right now. Wouldn’t Obi-Wan and Padme be proud of him?

Not that he was actually planning on telling these people he was injured until he was absolutely certain he could trust them.

Obi-Wan! How could he be so stupid? He reached out across the Force Bond he had refused to sever for his former master.

The bond was broken.

Obi-Wan was gone.

Anakin had to shuttle away his anguish to deal with later, because he had almost reached the first row of ships, and the people there were finally starting to notice him. _Unobservant morons._ Hopefully this wasn’t the Republic. They didn’t need people this shoddy working for them.

The people, mostly pilots and mechanics, he would guess, froze at the sight of him. They stood stock still for about a second, then turned around and started to bolt.

“Wait!” Anakin called. “Stop! Come back. I need help!” Dizziness overtook his pounding head and he collapsed to the ground, bracing himself against the hangar duracrete beneath him.

A few turned to look at him like he was crazy. _What, never considered the idea that a Jedi might need help before?_

He tried to get up, but his spinning head catapulted him flat out on the ground. His vision blurred before him. He might have to ignore the Force and take his helmet off anyway, because he was about to be sick.

An astromech’s beeping cut through his haze. A familiar astromech’s beeping. “R2?”

He put his head down, hoping the spinning would steady.

A painful shock ran through his body. Anakin jolted up. Artoo loomed before him, arm extended. “Hey!” He forced himself to sit up. Thankfully, the dizziness had subsided some. “What was that for?”

Artoo gave a rude blat, which, when used against Anakin, was usually code for “You’ve done something incredibly stupid and now we’re in trouble.”

“All right, I’m sorry. I’ll be more careful next time.”

[Yeah, right.] But Artoo withdrew his arm.

Anakin placed his hands on either side of Artoo’s dome. “Boy, am I glad to see you.”

“Artoo?” A hesitant, bewildered voice broke in.

Anakin glanced up. A young man stood behind Artoo, very powerful in the Force, by appearances, though why Anakin hadn’t noticed him before now he could only attribute to the fact that he felt like death warmed over, and on the young man’s belt—

“Hey, that’s my lightsaber!” Anakin climbed to his feet, using Artoo to push himself up. Pain pounded in his head, but the dizziness was mostly subsided. The young man appeared to be very light in the Force, but Anakin readied himself to grab the Sith lightsaber just in case. Hopefully the young man would just give Anakin his lightsaber back and Anakin would never have to explain to Obi-Wan that he had briefly lost it.

The young man in question activated said lightsaber instead of handing it over. “It belonged to my father. Do you remember him?”

“Uh…” His father? Anakin knew that was his lightsaber, so why would the young man think it belonged to his father? Why would he want to know if he remembered him?

A cold pit curled in his stomach. How much time had he lost?

Did the young man somehow know about his amnesia?

Could he be…?

Nah, that was impossible.

“Look, I don’t know who you are or how you found it, or my droid, but you need to hand it back.” Anakin extended his hand in hopes that the young man would just hand the lightsaber over and be done with it.

The young man just looked more bewildered than ever. “ _Your_ droid?”

“Yes, my droid,” Anakin snapped. “I’m Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, General of the 501st Legion, and that is my lightsaber, and this is my droid. I crashed on this moon and my ship blew up, and I need to get back to Coruscant to speak with Padm—Obi-Wan Kenobi.” And speak with Vokara Che. Surely Obi-Wan was just deep undercover again. Anakin wouldn’t be able to forget his death.

The young man gaped for about half a minute, and when he did finally speak, his response was nonsensical. “No…that’s not true. That’s impossible!”

“Uh…no, it’s not. Look, it’s really important that I get back to Coruscant as fast as possible. Do you know where I can get safe passage there?” Hopefully _with_ his stuff.

“You can’t be Anakin Skywalker!” the young man protested.

“Why not?” Anakin protested.

“You…that’s not possible.”

Artoo finally rolled away from between them and swiveled his dome between the two. His beep almost seemed like a sigh.

Frustrated with this moronic man, Anakin turned to his trusty droid. “Artoo, what am I missing?”

[About twenty years of your memory, apparently.] Artoo replied.

“Twenty years?” Anakin repeated dumbly. That was impossible.

[Maybe more like nineteen and a half. Coruscant hasn’t been called Coruscant for about nineteen and a half years.]

Hasn’t been called Coruscant? What in the galaxy else would they call it? “So why can’t I be Anakin Skywalker?”

The young man’s mouth opened and closed a few times before he said, “Ben said you betrayed and murdered my father.”

And now they were back to his father. “What does your father have to do with anything?” The world started churning again. Anakin stumbled and reached out for Artoo.

“My name is Luke Skywalker. Anakin Skywalker was my father.”

Anakin’s world dropped out from under him. As did his legs. He should really get this head wound checked out.

_“Ani…something wonderful has happened…I’m pregnant.”_

He choked out, “It’s a boy?” before passing out completely.


	2. Who in the Galaxy is Darth Vader?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anakin has a confusing conversation with Mon Mothma

Anakin woke up slowly this time. He had a vague idea of being in bacta for a while. But he woke up slowly in a place he all too often found himself: the medbay. His head swam, but it wasn’t half as bad as before. The red film was gone. His head was free of the horrible helmet. He had an oxygen mask over his face, but that was a welcome improvement to the respirator. His back felt completely healed.

The room was white and small and devoid of breakable objects. There were three men wearing mismatched clothing, but eyeing him with their hands on their blasters. His robotic arms and legs were strapped down. So he wasn’t in a friendly place. He still didn’t think they were Separatists, but they clearly weren’t Republic, either. Hopefully he hadn’t stumbled upon Black Sun or Zygerrian slavers or something.

The door to his room (his cell?) hissed open and Artoo rolled in. The men, his guards, sighed and turned away.

“Just don’t let him go,” one of them said.

Another of the guards leaned out of the door and spoke to someone outside.

Artoo ignored them and rolled to Anakin’s bedside. [How are you functioning, Master Anakin?]

Anakin smiled. “Fine, I suppose.” His brow furrowed. He had questions he was dying to pepper Artoo with, but didn’t want to say anything in front of the guards. “What year is it?”

[It has been thirty-five years since the Great ReSynchronization.]

Nineteen years. Anakin had lost nineteen years of his memory. “He’s nineteen.” His unborn child was nineteen. And apparently under the impression that he had killed…himself? Had he understood that correctly?

[It appears you have suffered a partial memory wipe.]

“Yeah, apparently.”

[C-3PO has suffered a complete memory wipe.]

“That-that’s awful.” Anakin never had gotten around to safeguarding Threepio’s memories the way he had Artoo’s. It had never seemed important, since Threepio hadn’t been carrying around war secrets like Artoo had. Maybe he shouldn’t have put it off after all. “Who did that?”

[Senator Bail Organa. It was for the best. C-3PO is a motormouth that can’t keep a secret.]

Anakin snorted. “Don’t let him hear you say that.”

[I’ve said worse to his face. He deserves it. He calls me an overweight glob of grease, but he needs a personality update.]

Given that Artoo had learned to swear in Binary, even though Anakin hadn’t even been aware there were swears in Binary, he believed it. “Give him a break, Artoo, I built him when I was nine.”

[That’s no excuse for his rude behavior. He was programmed for protocol, but he acts worse than Master Obi-Wan without his tea!]

“Only to you, Artoo, only to you.” Anakin shifted on his medical bed. “When do you think I’ll get my memories back?”

[Hopefully never. You developed a bug in your programming nineteen years ago. The partial memory wipe appears to have erased the Darth Vader virus.]

“The _what?_ ” Darth Vader virus? “Who in the galaxy is Darth Vader?”

“I see we have a lot to discuss.”

The door to Anakin’s…yes, it had to be a cell…hissed shut. Senator…Mothma stood in front of the door. Yes, she was on his short list of decent politicians, though that was only because she was Padme’s friend. “Senator Mothma. Is there a good reason I’ve been tied to a bed?”

“There is. But before we get to that, tell me, what’s the last thing you remember?”

“Collapsing after being accused of murdering myself by my son,” Anakin answered promptly. Since when had his life become so weird? “What is up with that, anyway?”

Mothma sighed. “What do you remember before that?”

“I woke up in a crashed ship in the middle of the jungle. And before that, I had just returned Chancellor Palpatine to the Senate. I rescued him, and defeated Dooku, and landed the _Invisible Hand_ in one piece. Well, two pieces.” Technically it was more than two, given the debris that fell off, but that was neither here nor there. He still couldn’t resist the urge to brag. It was a pretty remarkable feat if he did say so himself. “Why have you tied me up? Are you working with the Separatists? And why are you so old?”

_Anakin!_

Anakin could swear he heard Obi-Wan lecturing him in his head. _What?_

_Your mother and I raised you to be more polite than that._

Okay, that was definitely Obi-Wan. He must not be dead after all, if he could still communicate to him through their Force Bond. _What? She is old. And where are you?_

_It’s complicated._

“The Separatists have not been around for the past nineteen years. You defeated them.”

“I did?” How come he didn’t remember single-handedly winning the war? “When did that happen?” Nineteen years ago, idiot, she just said. “Where’s Obi-Wan? Where’s Padme? I mean, Senator Amidala? Since when did I have a son?”

“You have had a son for nineteen years.”

Ah. That made sense. “Where is he? Why does he think I murdered myself? Why does he have my lightsaber? If you aren’t the Separatists, then why am I tied to a bed?”

“I am afraid Obi-Wan and Padme are dead.”

The bottom dropped out of Anakin’s heart. Obi-Wan, Padme, dead. The room was bare of objects save for his bed and the medical equipment surrounding it, but what was in the room trembled nonetheless. “What…who…how…who killed them? How were they killed? When? Why?”

_Anakin, it’s okay, I’m here._

_How come she thinks you’re dead?_

Obi-Wan was silent for a beat. _About that…_

_Obi-Wan…_

_I kind of…am dead._

Anakin didn’t even know how to process that. He had lost twenty-ish years of his life, he had a son who thought he was his own murderer, he had lost all the rest of his limbs, Coruscant wasn’t Coruscant anymore, he’d spent the last nineteen years as Darth Vader, whoever that was, and Obi-Wan and Padme were dead, but Obi-Wan could still talk to him through the Force. Why not? Nothing else made sense anymore. _Whatever happened to becoming one with the Force?_

_Master Qui-Gon learned a way through the Living Force to retain one’s identity in the Force after death,_ Obi-Wan readily replied.

_That…makes a surprising amount of sense._ After all, Anakin _had_ thought he had heard Master Qui-Gon on the Night He Never Thought About.

Mon Mothma appeared to be gathering her courage. “I am afraid the person you spoke of before, Darth Vader, is the one responsible for the death of Obi-Wan Kenobi.”

A jolt ran through Anakin. “R-2 mentioned him.” He seemed to imply that Darth Vader _was_ him, but that was impossible. Obi-Wan may drive him crazy sometimes, but he’d never murder him. Right? _Obi-Wan?_

_I…was going to mention that. Don’t worry, I let Darth Vader win._

_You_ let _Darth Vader win? Why in the name of the Republic would you_ let _a Sith Lord kill you?_

_I…had my reasons. Of course, I might have tried to find another way if I knew_ this _was going to happen. You truly do redefine impossible, Anakin._

_Thank you._

_You know perfectly well that wasn’t a compliment, my wayward apprentice._

_Not your apprentice anymore._ “What…what about…” He wasn’t even sure he could voice his question. “How did…Padme die?”

Mon Mothma sighed. “Reports stated…that she was killed in the Jedi Rebellion—”

“The _what_?” Jedi Rebellion? What nutjob had thought that up? “Jedi Rebellion? Against what?” Couldn’t be the Separatists, the Separatists were defeated, she’d said. “Who would they rebel against? Who said that? Does anybody actually believe that?”

“According to reports—” And Anakin didn’t need the Force, though it certainly helped, to hear the word _faked_ in her voice, “The Jedi rebelled against the Republic.”

Anakin blinked, hard. The words were so ridiculous, he just couldn’t process them. Jedi? Rebelling against the Republic? After they’d all spent three long, hard, brutal, miserable years fighting and dying for nothing else than to preserve the Republic? Almost destroyed the Order for the Republic? Betrayed some of the Jedi’s most dearly held principles just to preserve the Republic? Anakin knew the Jedi could do many things, but one thing none of them could do was betray the Republic. They’d all lost too much for that. “Says who?” And where were they so he could run them through with his lightsaber for such outrageous lies?

[Did you know that Palpatine, that karking son of a Sith, is Darth Sideous? That ridiculous, son of a Hutt, slimy…] Artoo dissolved into a long string of curses.

“Artoo, stop cursing. You know Threepio hates that kind of language,” Anakin said almost absently. Though that was probably more of an encouragement to Artoo than a deterrent…

“Emperor Palpatine is the one who said so,” Mon Mothma replied, seemingly oblivious to Artoo’s revelation.

_Emperor_ Palpatine… Darth Sideous… _“Bug in your programming…” “Darth Vader virus…”_

Mind whirling, torn between furious anger at Mon Mothma for daring to accuse Palpatine of anything and a niggling idea that the Force was nudging him at, screaming the truth of it in his ear, he settled on the only thing that made any sense for him.

“Shavit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up, Luke!


	3. A Bad Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke Skywalker is having a bad day.

Luke Skywalker was having a bad day.

It was a shame, too. It had started out so well. He had borrowed nice clothes from Han (Han had been gruff and pretended that he didn’t want them anyway, but Luke had glimpsed his closet when he went to grab the clothes, and it was the only outfit in there besides the identical versions of what Han was already wearing) and gotten a medal from Leia ( _Princess Leia_ was talking to him, had smiled at him, was his friend!). But then he had gone walking through the hangar with Wedge to visit his new X-wing and talk about Biggs, and Artoo had sped away from him. When he ran to find him, he saw him standing over a collapsed Darth Vader. Artoo had shocked him, which made sense, but then Vader _apologized_ to Artoo. Promised to be more careful. Put both hands on Artoo’s dome, rested his head on it, and said, “Boy, am I glad to see you.”

And Artoo had _let_ him.

Then Vader had demanded _his_ lightsaber—his father’s lightsaber—and claimed it and his droid for his own. Confessed to being Anakin Skywalker. And seemed genuinely bewildered when Luke indicated things should be otherwise.

Then he’d collapsed at his feet and Luke had called for help and Vader had been arrested and dragged off. Everyone had pressed him for what he had said to him, before Mon Mothma—Mon Mothma! Of all people—drew him aside and asked him what Vader had said to him. When he finally confessed, she hadn’t assured him Vader was lying, hadn’t said he was manipulating Luke to get him on his side, hadn’t said there was no way Vader was Anakin Skywalker.

She had just said, “Hmm. Interesting,” and walked away.

Luke hadn’t seen her or Artoo since.

He was too afraid to tell Leia what Vader had said, even though she kept gently pressing him. He couldn’t tell her, not after what she had just been through. He knew Han and Chewie wouldn’t judge him for what Vader had said, but he also knew they would insist Vader was lying, and that was _not_ what he needed to hear right now.

He was drowning. Everything he had ever known, ever held to, was gone.

_Oh, how I wish Father had stayed a simple navigator on a spice freighter._

He was sitting in the hangar staring at his X-wing and wishing that the events of the past few days hadn’t happened. He wasn’t sure what the Alliance was planning on doing with Darth Vader going forward—sorry, Anakin Skywalker, can’t forget that juicy little tidbit—but from the rumors flying all around the base, Vader had been in a bacta tank for days and was now being interrogated by Mothma while under heavy guard. There was even a vague rumor that he wasn’t half as badly injured as the Imperial reports made him out to be and the suit was actually some form of torture device. Of course, that wasn’t counting the injuries Vader had gotten in the crash. Because of that, Han and Luke were now being praised not only for the destruction of the Death Star, but for the capture of Darth Vader. Every few minutes sitting in the hangar, someone else came up to Luke and congratulated him. He was getting rather tired of it all.

“How you doing?” Wedge asked.

Luke jumped and looked over to where Wedge was standing right beside him. He shrugged. “I don’t know. A couple of days ago, I never thought…”

“I don’t think anyone thought this was going to happen,” Wedge said.

“I don’t…I don’t even know what to think,” Luke said. “I don’t know who to talk to, what to say. Everyone’s praising me for capturing Darth Vader, and I…I didn’t.”

Wedge sighed. “Do you think…he’s telling the truth?”

Luke shook his head. “I don’t know. Ben—Obi-Wan Kenobi told me that Darth Vader betrayed and murdered my father.” But, to be honest, the reason he was having such a bad day was because he knew in his heart that it was true. “I keep thinking, though…”

“That it feels real?” Wedge suggested.

Luke nodded glumly. “I want so bad to pass it off as just lies, but Artoo is such a good droid, he’s been with the Rebellion since forever, and for him to act like this…”

A resolve formed in Luke. He had to see him. He had to see Vader again and ask him the questions he needed to ask. “I’ll be right back.”

_I’m a Sith Lord._ Anakin shifted uneasily on the medical bed. Mon Mothma was still staring at him, waiting for him to deal with this information before unloading more on him. She was a surprisingly patient woman.

_Yes, I was wondering when you would realize that,_ Obi-Wan mused in his head.

_I’m the one that killed you! I’m Darth Vader!_

_Yes, you were._

_Yeah, I was. Hang on, are you_ sure _you_ let _me win?_

_I am absolutely positive. I couldn’t kill you before and I couldn’t kill you now._

_Before? When before?_

_Tell you in a minute._

“Wait, so Chancellor Palpatine is a Sith Lord,” Anakin asked out loud.

“We believe so, yes,” Mon Mothma replied coolly. How did she remain so calm?

“A Sith Lord? Chancellor Palpatine?”

_Yes. He’s Darth Sideous, the one we’ve been looking for all this time._

“So…if he says Padmé died in the ‘Jedi Rebellion’,” and yes, Anakin used air quotes, “but he’s really Darth Sideous, what actually happened?”

“The autopsy reports stated she died of strangulation.”

_She didn’t,_ Obi-Wan interjected.

“But none of us are quite sure what truly happened,” Mon Mothma finished, oblivious to the interruption.

_She lost the will to live. She was perfectly healthy when she died, but she had a broken heart._

Anakin’s own heart sunk within him. _Broken heart?_

_She lost her Republic and her husband all in one day. Watched from her apartment as the Jedi were slaughtered and the Jedi Temple burned. She had a broken heart._

_And…before? You mentioned you couldn’t kill me before._

_Yes, well…Yoda and I…we found out you turned to the Dark Side. He told me I needed to kill you. He himself tried to kill Palpatine. I snuck onto Padmé’s ship and let her take me to where you were. Mustafar, lava planet. Horrible place, don’t go there. I let her try and speak to you, hoping she’d turn you back, but you grew suspicious and angry when you saw me standing there and started choking her with the Force. So I cut off the rest of your limbs and left you to burn in lava. I should have killed you, but you’re my brother, Anakin, and I love you. I just couldn’t._

…Fair point. Anakin couldn’t even blame him. _If I ever try to kill Padmé again, you have my permission to murder me._ Dark Side, Schmark Side. Whatever it promised, it wasn’t worth it if it would cause him to strangle his wife and break her heart.

_She’s already dead, and so am I, so that situation can never come up, but I thank you for the sentiment. Besides, the only reason I even beat you was because you got arrogant and tried something stupid. We were too evenly matched otherwise._

_…That does sound like us._

_And her last words were that there is still good in you, so don’t let yourself slip back into the Dark Side from self-loathing or anything as ridiculous as that. She had already forgiven you, and so have I. I’m so glad to find out she was right._

Anakin nodded. “Is that all I need to know? Is me being a Sith Lord why I’m tied up?”

Mon Mothma blinked. “How do you—”

“Obi-Wan told me. He can speak to me beyond the grave through the Force.”

_Tell her I spoke to Luke Skywalker as well right before he blew up the Death Star._

“He spoke to Luke Skywalker as well right before he blew up the Death Star. Wait, what’s the Death Star? And how did my son blow it up?” His son. He wanted to meet his son. Properly, this time.

Mon Mothma sighed. “Yes, it is. As Darth Vader, you held a prominent position in the Empire; therefore, you are now a prisoner of the Galactic Alliance to Restore the Republic, which was actually partially founded by your wife before she died.”

Wife. “Wait, you know?”

“Everyone knew, even back in the Clone Wars. We did not feel it necessary to expose you two.”

Stars. Anakin could have sworn they had kept it a secret. They had been so discreet!

“I want to meet my son,” Anakin said.

“That can be arranged,” Mon Mothma said. She turned and walked out of the cell.

_Ah, yes, and when you do, can you tell Luke that Princess Leia Organa is actually his twin sister, and he should let go of that crush of his? I didn’t tell him before because it was too dangerous to expose her while she was captured by the Empire, but he seems to be developing a crush on her, and I’m not around to discourage them like I planned. You need to tell them, as their father, that they have to cut it out before it gets too serious._

Anakin blinked. Twin sister. Padmé had had twins? He had a baby girl too?

…That Luke was developing a crush on?

“Wait, what?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like Wedge is a little OOC in this, but Luke needed a friendly ear, and neither Han nor Leia were going to cut it, and Artoo won't leave Anakin. Oh, well, I did my best.  
> Also, while Anakin thinks he was discreet in his relationship with Padme, this author very much does not. Anakin is many things, but subtle, he is not.  
> The timeline is purposefully vague, so don't try to solidify it. I don't know how long Anakin was in bacta, or how long it's been since Luke got the medal. Let's just say more than two hours and less than a week. Good? Good. Luke probably hasn't got much sleep in the meantime anyway, so it all feels like one day to him.  
> Next up, Luke and Anakin have a chat!


	4. I Have Ninety-Nine Problems, and Vader is Most of Them

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke and Anakin have a chat.

Luke was on his way to track down Mon Mothma and ask if he could speak to Vader when she found him and asked if he would be willing to speak with Vader. At the request, what he was really doing hit him in the chest, derailing his courage. But he had to know. He nodded wordlessly and was led to a heavily guarded room in the medical ward.

A pale, bald man lay in a white medical bed that just made his pale skin seem whiter. A bandage was wrapped around his forehead. Faint scars peeked out from behind the oxygen mask covering his nose and mouth. He was wearing a white medical gown. All four of his limbs were prosthetic, and not the more advanced ones with synth skin either. His limbs were strapped down to the bed, though, given all the legendary stories that had even reached as far as Tatooine about Vader’s powers, Luke wasn’t sure the straps could do anything at all to hold him back. And he was sound asleep. Artoo stood by his side.

Mon Mothma stepped forward and lightly laid a hand on his shoulder. “Anakin,” she said softly.

Luke stepped forward almost involuntarily. Vader’s eyes blinked open, showing clear blue eyes. Like his.

Luke swallowed hard.

“Your son is here,” Mon Mothma said.

“Really?” Vader’s voice was softer, less harsh than Luke would have imagined. And it was groggy. He really had been asleep.

Mon Mothma nodded. “I’ll leave you two to talk.” As she left, she stopped by Luke and whispered to him. “There will be guards inside the room and outside. My trust in them is complete. You can say anything you wish to in front of them. If at any time you feel uncomfortable, feel free to leave. You are under no obligation to stay here and speak to him.”

Luke nodded. As she left, he turned. “Um, ma’am?”

She paused in the doorway.

“Who is he?”

Mon Mothma smiled. “I think you should ask him that yourself.” And with that, she left, the door hissing shut behind her.

Luke turned back to the man in the bed, his heart thundering. He stepped forward until he was standing at his side.

Vader peered up at him with clear blue eyes. “You’re short.”

Irritation flared up in Luke at the jab at one of his insecurities. “And?”

Vader smiled. Smiled! Surprisingly, it made his face seem kind. “You look like your mother.” He added hastily, “And like me too. You look a lot like me too, but there’s something about you that’s all her.” He muttered to himself, “This is so weird.”

Luke breathed out a laugh. “You’re telling me.”

Vader looked up at him in surprise. Had he not expected Luke to hear that? Was he going to retaliate or something?

Regardless, Luke plowed forward. He needed to know. “Who are you really? Ben—Obi-Wan told me you betrayed and murdered my father.”

“And your father is Anakin Skywalker.”

It wasn’t a question, but Luke nodded anyway.

“I really don’t know what to tell you. I don’t know why he told you that. Who did he say betrayed and murdered me?” Vader’s hands curled into fists and tugged at the restraints. Luke tried not to jump out of his skin. The guards were right here. And Luke still had his lightsaber—Vader’s lightsaber?—if he really needed it.

Heart still pounding, Luke answered. “Darth Vader.”

Anakin snorted with what appeared to be laughter. “Really?”

Luke nodded. “Ben said his former apprentice Darth Vader betrayed and murdered—” He caught himself before he said “you.” He was beginning to believe it himself! “Anakin Skywalker,” he finished.

This time, Luke was positive Vader laughed. He threw his head back on his pillow and laughed.

Artoo let out a long string of beeps that made Vader sit up and squint at Artoo in disbelief. “From a certain point of view? Is that where you got your whole ‘Darth Vader virus’ thing? Why couldn’t you have just told me I turned into a Sith Lord?”

Artoo rolled forward and beeped indignantly.

“All right, all right! You did! You did a great job, Artoo. I’m sorry.”

Artoo beeped again and rolled backward.

Anakin—no, it was Vader, they couldn’t be the same person!—turned back to Luke. “Obi-Wan only had one apprentice. Me.”

Unfortunately, Luke was starting to believe it himself. But there was still one thing. “If you really are Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader, how come you’re suddenly…good?” Was he even claiming that? But there was no getting around it. Vader was different.

Anakin blinked. “Did no one tell you? I lost my memory. Twenty—”

Artoo interrupted him with a beep.

“Nineteen and a half years of memory. Gone. Not that I’m all that broken up about it, because it means I did wipe the Darth Vader virus, as Artoo puts it, from my systems, but, you know. Makes it a little awkward for everyone else. But hey, at least I’m not on the Dark Side anymore! That’s got to be a plus, right?” Anakin smiled blindingly.

Lost his memory? Darth Vader lost his memory? So he just forgot being evil and became the Jedi he used to be? Regardless of whether or not the Jedi Darth Vader used to be was Luke’s father or not, this was…big.

Oh, who was he kidding, it was pretty clear by now that Darth Vader was Anakin Skywalker, plain and simple. “So you’re Anakin Skywalker…my father?”

Anakin nodded. “Oh, and I have a message from Obi-Wan. He’s been speaking to me through the Force, he said he spoke to you too when you blew up the…Dead Star? What is that, by the way, and how did you blow it up? What are the ships like nineteen years in the future?” He shook his head furiously. “I mean—you know what I mean. It feels like I time-traveled, even though I know I didn’t. Anyway, Obi-Wan told me through the Force that you have a twin sister. And that you have a crush on her?” His face screwed up. “Either way, don’t get in a relationship with Princess Leia Organa. She’s your sister.”

Luke’s face grew hot. Sister? Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan was his sister? The girl he’d tried to clumsily flirt with on the _Falcon_ on the way back from the Death Star? The girl he’d tried to nicely tell Han to stay away from? He groaned and put his head in his hands. “Are you sure?”

“Ninety-five percent certain,” Anakin replied.

Artoo beeped.

“Never mind, make that a hundred percent. Artoo says he was there at your birth and when Senator Organa adopted Leia.”

Luke groaned again.

“Problems? You haven’t already kissed her, have you?”

“No! Oh, gosh, no. Thank goodness.” Luke could barely meet his father’s face. He instead took his hands down and stared resolutely at Artoo’s dome. “What do we do now?”

“Probably untie me, first, and then tell Leia. Or we could talk about how you blew up the Dead Star. I want to hear more about that. Or your childhood! What did I miss?”

“Everything,” Luke replied. Now that he was here, though, he wanted an answer to a question he’d never thought he’d be able to get. He met his father’s eyes. “Who’s my mother?”

Anakin’s eyes seemed to gaze off into the distance. “Padmé Amidala. Your mother was Queen Padmé Amidala of Naboo. Queen and senator.” He added in a ragged voice, “She died of a broken heart.”

The door hissed open. Mon Mothma stood in the doorway. “I hate to interrupt your conversation, but Princess Leia Organa needs to speak with you.”

Luke couldn’t even speak. How could he ever face Leia after all this? “I need some air,” he mumbled, not caring if anybody heard him. He squeezed past Mon Mothma and passed by Leia in the hallway.

“Luke!” she said in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

Luke glanced up at her and just shook his head, unable to speak, then walked away as fast as possible, making a beeline for outdoors and fresh air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next, Leia!


	5. Interrogation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anakin and Leia have a nice chat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May the Fourth be with you! Here, have another chapter.

If Anakin had any doubts that Leia was his daughter before, he didn’t now. Not that he would presume to doubt both Obi-Wan and Artoo. But it was plain from her features that she was Padmé’s daughter. He might not have noticed without knowing the connection, but knowing it?

“Hi. You’re Leia, right?”

Leia nodded sharply. “It’s _Princess_ Leia,” she emphasized as if she didn’t want him using her first name.

Fear, anger, and pain crashed into Anakin through the Force. The pain made it harder for him to ignore his own exhaustion and pain. He sank into his bed and turned almost helplessly to Mon Mothma. “Can I get some water?”

“I’ll see what I can do.” Mon Mothma put her hand on Leia’s shoulder. “Be gentle, if you can. He’s not the man you knew.” With that she walked away.

Leia didn’t come further into the room. Anakin sighed. He wasn’t sure if he had the energy for another exhausting conversation after the ones with Mothma, Obi-Wan, and Luke, especially not one that the Force promised would be a headache of negative emotions. “What did I do to you?”

Leia took a deep breath and stepped forward into the room. The door hissed shut. She flinched, then balled her hands into fists. The pain and fear swirling in the room transformed into anger. Not the best way to deal with emotions, but who was Anakin to tell her otherwise? “You tortured me.”

Anakin blinked. _Well, snap._ That explained the emotions. Memories of the times _he’d_ been tortured popped into his brain. He pushed them out. He wasn’t exactly sure what he’d do if he ever saw Hondo Ohnaka again, but he wasn’t exactly fond of the horrible pirate. “I’m sorry. I know that can’t…ever make it up, but I really am sorry. I’ve…I’ve been tortured too, if that helps… I know how it feels…” He trailed off. There was no way this was helping. He needed a nap, he really did. Everything that was still organic was starting to hurt.

“By who?” Leia spat. “The Emperor?”

“No? Well, I don’t know, maybe. Who’s the emperor again?”

Anger trembled in the air. It was really giving Anakin a headache. Leia really needed to learn to rein in her Force Presence. “Emperor Palpatine? Your master?”

Anakin frowned. “I don’t have a master,” he said as sharp as he could manage, which wasn’t much, considering. “Not anymore,” he muttered to himself. “Never again.”

Artoo beeped reassuringly. [It’s all right, Master Anakin. You’re safe here.]

Anakin gave a faint smile. “Thanks, Artoo.”

“Is that why you’re here?” Leia spat. “To escape your master?”

Confused, Anakin squinted up at Leia. “I crashed. In a weird-looking ship that exploded. I think it was on fire. And it was small, too. Why do they make ships so small in the future? I mean,” he shook his head. This was so confusing! “Whenever this is. The future compared to now. Then. Whenever it was…whenever the Clone Wars…were,” he finished lamely.

Leia blinked, then shook her head. “Then who was your master?”

Anakin flinched, but reined back his defensive anger. There was enough of that in the room already. Besides, Leia was his daughter. She deserved to know. “Watto. Toydarian on Tatooine. And Gardulla the Hutt before that. And I don’t remember who before that. The Jedi said they freed me.” He shrugged. His anger crept into his voice regardless. “And I am not going back. So don’t say I have a master. Never again.”

Disgust flashed across Leia’s face at the mention of Gardulla. Exactly the way Anakin felt about Hutts. A blight on the galaxy, that’s what they were.

“How do I know you’ve truly lost your memory?” Leia’s voice was cold and businesslike. The anger was being reined in. Good girl.

“I don’t know. Ask me anything Darth Vader would know.” Pain scraped through Anakin’s throat. His mouth was drying out from all this talking.

“What year is it?”

“Thir…thirty-five years since the Great Resynchronization? I think that’s what Artoo said.”

[It is indeed what I said.]

“Anyway, Luke’s nineteen, so that means it’s been nineteen years at least since my last memory, which was in the sixteenth year after the Great Resynchronization. Or if you prefer, nineteen years past 981, if you’re going by the Ruusan Reformation. Oh! That would make this year 1000!”

Leia’s face was impassive and the emotions in the air didn’t change, so Anakin couldn’t tell whether he’d passed or failed her test.

“Why did you crash?”

Anakin shrugged. Did she think he was going to remember this? “I don’t know. But I’m sure whatever the reason, it was Obi-Wan’s fault.”

_I resent that._

_Resentment is a path to the Dark Side, Obi-Wan. Besides, remember that time I let you borrow my ship and you crashed it?_

_That wasn’t my fault!_

_Uh-huh. Way to pass off the blame, Master._ Anakin did his best to send Obi-Wan his love through the Force so he didn’t think he really blamed him for what happened on that awful time he failed to save Satine from Maul. He wasn’t sure how well he did, seeing as Obi-Wan was dead, but he tried. _I don’t suppose you have any advice?_

_Not really. Hang in there, my friend._

“If you grew up as a slave, then why did you assist Tarkin in enslaving the Wookiees?”

“Tarkin? Which Tarkin?”

Leia sighed. “Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin.”

What in the stars was a grand moff? And Wilhuff… “You mean Captain Tarkin? I’m pretty sure I saved his life once, and he spent the whole rescue mission questioning me and my padawan. I have no idea why I would help him enslave Wookiees, but my guess is probably because I was a Sith Lord.”

The door hissed open and Mon Mothma stepped in, a man following her. A glass of water was in her hand. She had got him one!

“This is your doctor, Doctor,” Mon Mothma explained.

“Doctor…Doctor?” Anakin asked, one eyebrow raised. [A.N.: _I am not even sorry. He’s an OC. His name is Doctor Doctor._ ]

“From what I can tell, you have been on life support for a long time,” Doctor Doctor said.

Life support? What in the galaxy?

 _The lava thing, remember? You fell into lava and burned_ , Obi-Wan reminded him.

 _Oh, yeah._ Anakin shrugged. “Can I have my water now?”

“That’s the thing. You received severe burns over every outer surface of your body, but your injuries were mostly treatable.”

Leia winced slightly at the word burns. Doctor Doctor didn’t notice and kept speaking.

“However, for some reason, they weren’t very well treated at all, and in some cases, I believe they may have been made worse. In addition, incredibly faulty prosthetics raised your health risks to very high levels. Most of these were corrected in surgery, as those flaws combined with your injuries in the crash were killing you. The one injury we’re not sure will ever fully heal is your lungs. They were severely damaged by whatever caused the burns. We managed to take you off the respirator and transition to that oxygen mask, but to actually drink your water, we would have to remove the face mask. I’m not sure your lungs can handle it, but if you’re willing to take the risk, we can try transitioning you to a nasal cannula now.”

Anakin nodded. Mon Mothma laid a hand on Leia’s shoulder and spoke to her softly. Leia nodded and they both left.

The transition was rather frightening at first. For a minute or so, Anakin couldn’t draw in a good breath with the nasal cannula in. He frantically drew on the Force to heal his lungs and finally, right before Doctor Doctor put him back on the oxygen mask, he managed to start breathing normally. Mon Mothma came in silently and gave him his water, which he gulped down gratefully. After he was done, he handed the glass back to her.

“Can I finish my conversation with Leia later? I really need to rest.”

Mon Mothma nodded.

Anakin smiled gratefully and sunk into a healing trance, something he didn’t do often, but, given the circumstances, he thought it would do some good. He trusted Artoo would guard him safely while he was out.

He hoped Leia wasn’t too mad at him. And he still hadn’t told her he was his father and Luke was her brother.

Oh, well. At least Luke knew. He would have to wait to tell her later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leia has, um, a lot to work through. More of her in the next chapter!


	6. Easy to Fight With

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leia goes to blow off steam.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Star Wars Day. Here, have another chapter.

Leia stalked through the hangar searching for Han. She wasn’t sure exactly where he was or what he was doing, but she needed a good argument. Finally, she found that overrated junk heap he called a ship. Raised voices trailed out.

“…I can’t believe it!” Luke said. “How am I ever going to face her again?”

“You’re gonna have to tell her sometime, kid,” Han drawled.

“I can’t! Why didn’t Ben tell me? I understand the Vader thing, but Leia? Han, Ben tried to get me to come along and abandon my family by telling me Leia needed me, but he didn’t bother to tell me she’s my sister?”

Leia froze with one foot on the ramp. Sister?

“I thought your family…” Han trailed off.

“That was before, Han,” Luke said, exasperated.

Leia shook her head. There was no way. No way she could be Luke’s sister. He was her age, and she’d know if she had a twin brother!

Except she did know, didn’t she? She’d had an instant connection with him from the first moment she heard the words, “I’m Luke Skywalker, I’m here to rescue you!” She hadn’t been sure what kind of connection it was, but…

No, this was impossible. Why wouldn’t her parents have adopted Luke as well as her? As far as she knew, they didn’t have some odd prejudice against having sons. It was impossible.

And yet, deep inside, in the instinct that had never led her wrong, in the place she had delved deep into to resist the Imperial torture, she knew that it was so.

“Does she know? Vader said Artoo knew. Did he tell her? Can she even understand him? If he didn’t tell anyone, why not?”

Chewbacca roared.

“Yeah, how did Vader know?”

“He said Obi-Wan told him,” Luke said.

Obi-Wan! That proved he remembered all along! And to think Leia was starting to believe he had actually lost his memory.

“Obi-Wan’s dead,” Han said slowly.

“He can speak through the Force. He’s why I blew up the Death Star. And I wasn’t imagining it, Han!”

_It’s true, Leia. My goodness, you’ve grown. I’m so glad you’ve finally opened up to the Force again. Although, you’re going to have to work on your shielding now._

Leia shrieked and stumbled back. This was not happening.

“Leia?” Luke appeared in the doorway of the _Falcon_. Han ran up behind him, his blaster drawn.

The sight snapped the fragile hold Leia had on her temper. She stalked up the ramp into the _Falcon_ , brushing between the two. “I’m fine. Don’t you think it’s dangerous to have such a hair-trigger reflex with that blaster?”

Han followed behind her. “Listen, sister, those hair-trigger reflexes of mine have saved my life a lot of times. Besides, what was I supposed to think when you screamed except that you were in danger?”

Leia walked into the main room. C-3PO was sitting at the game table deactivated. She spun around to face Han, infuriated. “I did not scream. And why is C-3PO deactivated?”

“Oh, really? You didn’t scream? Then what was that sound back there, a royal yelp?”

Leia’s hands curled into fists. She couldn’t formulate any kind of response to that, so she latched onto her other question. “Why is Threepio deactivated? How dare you think that you have the authority to turn off a protocol droid that is essential to the workings of the rebellion? It’s nothing that I shouldn’t have expected from a good-for-nothing scoundrel that—”

“I deactivated C-3PO,” Luke said.

“What?” Leia asked.

“I…deactivated him.” Luke’s voice dropped and he stared at the floor. “I didn’t want him to hear…what I had to say.”

Leia stared at him. Luke had brought her right back to the subject she didn’t want to talk about, didn’t want to think about. Vader.

According to Vader, they were apparently siblings. Vader who supposedly wasn’t Vader, Vader who had lost his memories. He hadn’t answered with years since the Empire formed, like he should have. His personality was fundamentally different, and she should know better than anyone. He was…talkative, and Vader was anything but talkative. There hadn’t been any condescension. Her egging him about the slavery questions should have ended in somebody being choked with the Force. But he’d been surprisingly candid. She’d think it had to be a trick, but she’d heard from multiple people—her father, the Emperor when he thought she wasn’t listening—that Vader was many things, but not manipulative, that he was a blunt instrument. In her many dealings with him, she had never felt he outright lied to her. Which meant he actually had lost his memories of being Vader.

That didn’t mean he wasn’t dangerous. But for the sake of the Rebellion and everything it stood for, every principle her father had taught her, she had to give Vader a chance. She couldn’t prosecute a man with no memory of his crimes. And if the man he was before was a good man…

No. That was impossible. No man could be that evil and start out a good man.

She knew she needed to ask who he was before. She had a feeling this Vader would be eager to tell her.

She was not eager to hear. Something deep inside her told her the news would forever alter her.

Unbidden, the memories of her torture rose in her mind. She had believed she had been set on fire over all of her body. She had believed that Vader was simply diabolical to come up with that idea and make her believe it with the Force. But according to the doctor, he had been on fire over all his body before. He was probably just sharing his memories with her.

What was it her father had said when warning her that she could suffer torture if she insisted on joining the Rebellion?

_“Torture can change everyone, Leia. Even the best men can break or turn under torture. Don’t hold that against them. No one can bear that forever.”_

And long ago, when telling her bedtime stories… _“The Clone Wars destroyed many people, Leia. Destroyed many minds. Even some of the greatest of Jedi I saw be driven almost to their breaking point.”_

_“Even General Kenobi?”_

_“Even General Kenobi, and his best friend, too, Anakin Skywalker.”_

_“The Hero with No Fear?”_

_“That’s right, Leia.”_

Vader had said he’d been tortured before. Her father had always said he was a Jedi that turned on the Jedi, believed the Chancellor’s lies about them all being traitors.

The voice she didn’t like to listen to said, _Being set on fire would turn somebody evil._

She snapped her head up. “Vader said we’re siblings?”

Luke’s face turned red. He sat down on the floor next to the bench and Threepio. “Yeah. He said that was what Artoo said, and what Obi-Wan told him.”

 _“The Force can do many things, Lelila.”_ She believed it. She really didn’t want to, but she believed it. She sat down on the floor across from Luke. It was probably filthy, but, when she didn’t want to ream Han about it, she didn’t actually mind. “Why were you speaking to him?”

Luke peeked up through his hair and stared back at his boots. “He, uh, he’s…” He trailed off and shrugged.

Han rolled his eyes. “He’s Daddy dearest. Good ol’ Anakin Skywalker.”

Leia had the sudden urge to scream.

Palpatine’s day wasn’t going very well at all. The Death Star loss was regrettable, very regrettable, but it was something he could deal with. But where was his chief enforcer? Granted, he didn’t like Vader very much, and if he had any chance of finding a more powerful apprentice, he would take it, but Vader was good! He did his bidding, his crippling depression meant he had no desire to do the proper Sith thing and murder his master, and, despite his injuries, he _was_ powerful. He was tenacious, stubborn, and a brilliant pilot. And, almost regrettably, it seemed almost nothing could kill him.

Yet, now, Palpatine couldn’t feel him at all. Vader hadn’t commed him since the Death Star blew up. In fact, no one who had been anywhere near the area had commed him at all. He had no one competent enough to head up the military unless he promoted Madine or that horrible alien Captain Thrawn, and he didn’t trust either of them to obey his every command as willingly as Vader did. Plus, neither of them had the Force.

In fact, Palpatine was beginning to think he was going to have to find himself a new apprentice. Stang it all, he was getting old! He didn’t want to have to track down a new, powerful Force sensitive that he could turn and train. He had put so much work into turning Vader. He didn’t feel like putting out that level of effort again.

He had to find Vader. He needed his apprentice, whether he liked him very much or not. He called his highest military officers to his throne room so he could set them to search for his wayward, possibly dead apprentice.

And he needed to start thinking of possibilities for new apprentices. Like that talented young pilot who had blown up his most prized possession. Such a shot had to come from a Force Sensitive. He would have to set his Hands on finding who that pilot was, just in case Vader truly was dead.

 _Never should have let Dooku go. I certainly wouldn’t have had this much trouble with_ him _still at my side. You set your sights too high, Sheev. Set your sights much too high._

At this point, if Dooku was his apprentice, Palpatine would be dead by now. Overthrown and dead.

With the trouble this new development was promising to give him, Sheev Palpatine almost wished that were true.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next, Luke and Leia discuss their mutual acquaintance.


	7. Memories, From a Certain Point of View

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke and Leia talk about their parents.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know if you got an email about an update, but I edited Palpatine's mention of Jan Dodonna to Madine. I forgot that Dodonna had already defected but Madine hadn't. Anyway, on to the new chapter!

Leia didn’t know how many trees she had blasted. Luke had followed her out and tried to calm her down, but now he was just sitting on a tree. She wasn’t looking at him, but she could feel his worried gaze boring into her back.

“Is it so bad to be related to me?” A comment like that from Han would be flippant and sarcastic, but from Luke, it was in a small, kicked-puppy voice.

She turned to him. He was slumped on the fallen tree picking at the bark. Some of the tenseness drained from her muscles. “Oh, Luke, of course not. It’s not you.” She spun and fired her blaster again. “It’s that” blast “twice-cursed” blast “Jedi-killing” blast “memory-losing” blast “father of yours!”

“Ours,” Luke corrected quietly.

Blast!

“He is _not_ my father!” Leia spit with venom.

“You can’t let me suffer alone!” Luke protested.

That was fair. She couldn’t abandon her twin to be the only offspring of Darth Vader.

Ugh. She shuddered.

It was bound to come out, probably sooner rather than later, that amnesiac Darth Vader really was Anakin Skywalker, back from the not-so-dead.

Especially since they couldn’t exactly prosecute him, seeing as he was an amnesiac, and, according to Mon Mothma, he seemed to want to defect, and the Alliance would be nothing if not hypocritical if they refused to take Imperial defectors simply because this one was higher up than any of the defectors before. The Alliance was made up of defectors.

Of course, there was always the high possibility that once Vader got his memory back, he would go back to being an Imperial, and they would severely regret treating him like just another defector if that happened.

“Do you think his change of memory will last?”

Leia bit down on her impulse to spit, “No,” and pulled on her diplomatic training to not hurt her already wounded brother. She holstered her blaster and sat down cross-legged on the fallen tree facing Luke. “I think…it’s a distinct possibility that it won’t last, and that we need to be prepared for that.”

“But what if it is true and it does last? We could turn him against us by treating him like a prisoner when he only wants to help.” Luke turned towards her and straddled the tree trunk.

And wasn’t that the ultimate dilemma. “We could…treat him like another defector, if that’s what he wants, but not give him access to any information that would be particularly damaging. Or put him in a position that he could do a lot of damage with.”

“Does piloting count?” Luke asked. “Ben said…well, he said that my father was a great pilot.”

Leia thought for a moment. “Not if there are pilots nearby that could shoot him down if he suddenly regains his memories and turns in the midst of battle. You would have to stick close by him. Be his wingman.” She suddenly realized who she was saying this to. “But of course, you can’t do that. It’s too dangerous. We’ll have to keep him grounded.”

“I can handle it!” Luke protested. “You can’t ground him just because you care about me. Besides,” and his voice lowered. “I don’t think he’d hurt me. Maybe even not as Vader.”

“I don’t think so.” Leia’s voice brooked no argument. “He’s _Vader_.”

“Leia, it’s different. I can’t tell much about him, and I don’t know much about the Force, but one thing I could tell was that he loves. He loves me; he loves us. He loved our mother deeply. Maybe that’s even what turned him to the Dark Side, losing our mother.”

Leia’s head shot up. “Our mother?” Luke had spoken to Vader about their mother? “Who is our mother?”

Luke ran his hand through his hair, pushing it back from his face. “Queen Padmé Amidala of Naboo.” He said it with almost a laugh. “To think, all this time, I thought I was just a nobody moisture farmer, and my father, sister, and mother are all some sort of royalty.”

“Pad…Padmé Amidala?” Leia repeated.

Luke nodded.

“Of Naboo?”

Luke cringed. “More bad news?”

“No, no, good news. Very good news.”

He slumped in relief and raised his eyebrows. “Who’s Padmé Amidala?”

“She’s my…” Leia faltered at sharing something so personal. But if she couldn’t talk to the person who was supposedly her twin, who could she talk to? “She’s my hero. She was a champion of democracy and sentient rights. She was strong and fearless. She helped found the Rebel Alliance!” And she had supposedly died heavily pregnant, killed by Jedi through strangulation. She swallowed hard. That sounded exactly like someone she knew. Her hands curled into fists. A tense knot grew in her chest. She didn’t remember much about her mother, but she remembered she was kind, beautiful, but very sad. If that monster had killed her…

“Father said she died of a broken heart.”

She barely registered that Luke had referred to Vader as “Father” with the memory his other words brought back. She had been very young, just truly understanding what it meant that she was adopted. She had started pestering her father with questions about her birth parents. Finally, he sat her down one night on her bed and told her.

_“Your parents were heroes, both of them. They fought in the Clone Wars, each in their different ways. They weren’t allowed to be together—”_

_“Why not?”_

_“Because of their jobs. They weren’t supposed to be together, but everyone could see how much they loved each other. Everyone just pretended not to notice. Your mother and I worked together sometimes, and I noticed—well, everyone noticed—when she began to be pregnant with you, but none of us said anything.”_

_“What happened?”_

_“Your father fell at the end of the Clone Wars, and your mother died of a broken heart. So I took you in, little Lelila, to be my daughter. Your parents loved each other so much; some would say too much. Theirs was a tragic love story.”_

_“I wish I could meet them.” Leia snuggled closer to her father. “But I’m glad you chose me.”_

_Her father ruffled her hair. “I’m glad too, Lelila.”_

“No,” she said out loud. “Fath—Vader didn’t fall because she died. She died because he fell. My father…” Her voice broke.

Luke put his hand over hers and squeezed gently.

Leia drew strength from Luke’s steadiness. “My father told me a little about my birth parents. He said they loved each other. That they weren’t allowed to be together because of their jobs, but they were anyway. He said…” She let out a bitter laugh. “He said my father fell at the end of the Clone Wars. Of course, I thought he meant he fell in combat and died. Then my mother died of a broken heart.”

Luke’s hand tightened around hers. “He didn’t say why… He never told you why he fell?”

Leia shook her head. “Of course not! He never told me—” She almost said “anything,” but then she realized that wasn’t true. “He told me that Vader was a Jedi that turned on the Jedi, that he believed Chancellor Palpatine’s lies about the Jedi being traitors and turning on the Republic. They were sworn to defend the Republic, you know. The Jedi.”

“So he was misguided,” Luke said.

“He was _evil_ , Luke.”

“He became evil. That doesn’t mean he started out like that. He could have started down the wrong path fully believing it was the right one, and by the time he realized it wasn’t, it was too late. And our mother’s death drove him over the edge.”

 _A tragic love story… They loved each other_ too _much_ … It was entirely possible, Leia realized. What would she do if she lost everyone she’d ever loved, the Alliance, her family, everyone she’d ever known, because she had broken under torture? Because she thought she knew the right path to save everyone and it turned out to be wrong? How would she handle it? Would she become a destructive rage monster if she had the capabilities? And growing up in a world of slavery, where it was kill or be killed, a foundation of doing whatever necessary to survive would have been laid. The Jedi could try to put their moral code on him, but even her parents agreed that even though the Jedi always had their heart in the right place, they became less and less capable of effecting change as the years went by. Put that together with how the Clone Wars destroyed so many lives, so many minds, and what would be the result?

It didn’t excuse any of Vader’s actions, but it made Leia understand many of them, which was something she really didn’t want to understand. Because in understanding him, she couldn’t hate him any longer. He was simply a tragedy, a showcase of what could happen to anyone under the right circumstances, what everyone is capable of.

“Our grandmother’s death couldn’t have helped either,” Luke added almost as an afterthought.

“What?”

Luke took a deep breath. “My aunt told me about my grandmother Shmi, my father’s mother. They didn’t know my father very well because he was only their stepbrother, and he was already away when Cliegg Lars married Grandmother Shmi. Of course, they told me he was already a navigator on a spice freighter by then.”

“In other words, a Jedi.”

Luke nodded. “She was taken by Tusken Raiders and tortured for over a month. My aunt told me she had become like the mother Uncle Owen never really knew. They tried to get her back, but a lot of farmers died trying. My father came and went to save her, but it was too late, and he came back with her body in his arms. They buried her, and my father left again. Funny thing was, my grandpa Cliegg died of a broken heart not long after that. He couldn’t live without her. Aunt Beru wasn’t sure, but she thought my father might have blamed himself for not being there.”

The words stabbed deep into Leia’s heart. Losing a mother was something she could understand. It had happened to her twice now, and one time, some part of her would always believe she held some responsibility for that death. She, more than anyone, could understand how the loss of a mother could change someone. Especially as a Jedi, who would certainly believe he could have saved her if he had been there sooner.

“I think I’m ready to face him again.”

Luke squeezed her hand again. “When you do, I’ll be right there beside you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to be honest, I did not expect Leia to come to mostly acceptance that quickly. However, I drew her state of mind heavily from how she was in the Rebel Force series. Her torture is something she hasn't really come to terms with yet, so her working through that is part of her working through her emotions about Vader. She didn't feel she would be able to stand up to another round of torture if she was ever captured again. Also, unlike after ROTJ in canon/Legends when she ran from her feelings, she has to confront her feelings now, because, as one of the highest-ranking members of the Rebel Alliance, she has to help make the decision about what to do with Vader, and she can't do it from a place of resentment or vindictiveness. She has a responsibility to help find the right balance of justice mixed with mercy. At her heart, while Leia is more cynical and pessimistic, she is forgiving like her brother (see her interactions with Mara Jade in the Thrawn trilogy as an example), and without Bespin to resent him for and having not really had her loss of her adoptive parents sunk in yet helped a lot. 
> 
> Next up, Mara Jade!


	8. Grief and Dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anakin's grief finally hits him.

Mara Jade, Emperor’s Hand, eyed the small moon with more than a bit of confusion. She had thought that the Rebels were simply a messy band of insurgents with not a chance of destroying the Empire, and yet somehow, they’d managed to not only destroy the DS-1 Orbital Battle Station, a project she frankly hadn’t known about before, but they’d also managed to either injure or kill Darth Vader, something she’d believed almost impossible. Either the Rebels had gotten lucky, or they were much more powerful than she had assumed.

She entered the atmosphere, heading for the last reported location of the Rebel Base. She was posing as an Imperial defector who left because of Alderaan and because of rumors of Darth Vader defecting. Although Tarkin’s fringe views were not supported by the Emperor, this cover story served three purposes: first, to cause the Rebels to trust her; second, to explain why she knew where their base was; third, to gain any information possible on Vader’s whereabouts.

But Vader’s whereabouts weren’t her primary mission. Her primary mission was to find out who destroyed the DS-1 Orbital Battle Station and determine whether or not the pilot was Force Sensitive.

“Unauthorized craft, please state your business.”

Mara leaned over the comms. “I’m here to join the Rebel Alliance.”

When Anakin awoke, he was feeling much better. He’d also apparently been untied. He gladly sat up and removed the nasal cannula.

Artoo rolled forward. [What are you doing? Current data suggests that you will not be able to breathe properly!]

Anakin took a deep breath. Yup, back to normal. “I’m fine, Artoo.” In fact, he was quite hungry. He would have to find some food and then figure out a way to contact Padmé—

Oh. His throat tightened. Not only was his beloved wife dead, she had been dead for nineteen years.

And he had nobody to blame but himself.

_Why did I turn to the Dark Side?_

_I wish I knew,_ Obi-Wan said. _I spent nineteen years trying to figure that out._

_You don’t have any idea?_

_Anakin, I was on Utapau at the time killing Grievous. I can only speculate._

Anakin grabbed his blanket and squeezed it, hard. _What do you speculate?_

_Anakin._ Obi-Wan’s voice was admonishing and gentle. _The last act of your wife was to forgive you. The least you can do is forgive yourself._

_I can’t._ Anakin swallowed. _How could I ever forgive myself when caused my wife’s death?_

_You can when you realize your anger is only a front for something else._

_Fear?_

_Grief. You have lost so much throughout your life, Anakin. Have you ever let yourself feel grief? I tried to teach you, as my Master Qui-Gon taught me, that the best way to let go of emotions is to let yourself feel them. I am afraid I failed on that front._

The words struck Anakin hard. It wasn’t what he’d ever done with his emotions as a Jedi. He’d either completely ignored the Jedi teachings or completely ignored his feelings. But Obi-Wan’s advice made so much sense. _The soldiers guarding me, they’ll see._

_Then let them see. They already know you used to be a Sith Lord. How can they possibly think worse of you?_

At that, Anakin let himself feel his emotions, his true emotions. His face crumpled. He buried his face in his pillow and sobbed for a long time, not just for his wife, but for Ahsoka, for Obi-Wan, for the shattering of his illusion of Palpatine, for the Jedi, for the Republic, and for his mother.

_How can I live without her? Without any of you?_

_One day at a time. That’s how I got through life on Tatooine after everything fell apart. Just face life one day at a time, one step at a time, one challenge at a time. And remember, you have two children who just recently lost everything. You three are going to need each other._

Anakin sat up. Resolve firmed in him. He was going to get to know his kids, and then he was going to destroy the Sith like he was meant to all along, even if that meant personally cutting off Palpatine’s head like he had with Dooku. _I’m going to dismantle this Sith Empire I helped create, piece by piece._

_That’s the spirit._

He only had to get through this life one day at a time, one step at a time.

And the first step was to get some food.

He was starving.

After a while, Luke and Leia had returned to the _Falcon_ and talked the whole thing over with Han and Chewie. They were relaxing at the game table in the _Falcon_ when Leia’s comm rang. She listened to something, said, “I’ll be right there,” and clipped it back on her belt.

Luke straightened. “What’s wrong?”

She sighed. “Darth Vader has apparently broken out of his cell.”

“What?” Luke sprang up. “Where is he?” Had he been wrong about him this whole time? Had he truly not lost his memory? Had he gotten frustrated with being held prisoner?

Leia sighed again. “In the mess hall.”

Luke, Leia, and Han ran to the mess hall. Anakin was sitting at the end of a table, three plates in front of him, still dressed in his white medical gown, shoveling food in his mouth. He was still incredibly pale and super bald.

Luke blinked. The sight was even more incongruous than the news had been. His father had broken out of his cell…to get dinner.

Leia stalked forward. “You broke out of your cell?”

Anakin shrugged and gave a crooked smile. “I was hungry.”

“Then why didn’t you ask the guards to get you food?” Leia demanded.

Anakin blinked. He shoved a plate forward. “You hungry, Luke?”

Luke stepped forward. He actually was hungry. He’d wound up skipping lunch while talking to Leia and watching her angrily shoot trees.

“Luke!” Leia snapped.

Luke stepped back. “What?”

Leia didn’t answer him. Instead, she turned on Anakin again. “Why didn’t you ask the guards to get you food?”

Anakin didn’t even look up at her this time. He focused on shoveling food into his mouth. “Because I went to get it myself.”

Amazingly, Anakin seemed to actually be flustering Leia. She flailed her hands in the air. “You can’t just…you’re a prisoner!”

Anakin glanced up, his blue eyes startlingly clear in his face. They had the same eyes! Luke swallowed down a lump in his throat. He and his father shared features.

“Not anymore,” Anakin said.

“Not anymore!” Leia repeated incredulously. “You can’t just decide you’re not a prisoner anymore.”

“Why would I be a prisoner? You know I’m not a Sith Lord anymore. I’m going to help you defeat the Empire. Mon Mothma’s my wife’s friend, and she’s in charge of this thing, isn’t she? What is this thing? How big is it? Can I have my lightsaber back or will I have to make a new one again? You know, you’re going to have to make your own eventually, Luke. All Jedi do. Some make them several times.”

Luke blinked. He didn’t know what to make of this. He stepped forward and put his hand on Leia’s shoulder. “You were speaking of accepting him as a defector.”

“Yes, but he broke out of his cell!” Leia protested.

“I didn’t hurt anyone, if that helps. I just used a Jedi mind trick on the guards.”

“I can’t believe you!” a man exclaimed.

Luke turned. A doctor walked up and shook his hand at Anakin. “You should not be out of bed, young man. You are not well enough to be wandering around—Are you eating? Your body is not accustomed to solid foods yet. Your body won’t be able to handle it.”

Anakin’s skin turned slightly green. He placed a mechanical hand over his mouth. “That’s not true,” he mumbled.

“And you removed your nasal cannula without even consulting a medical droid first? You are without a doubt the most reckless, impatient, foolhardy patient I have ever come across!”

“That sounds about right,” Anakin mumbled. He turned and vomited onto the floor.

“Are you going to go back to bed voluntarily, or shall I have to stun you?” the doctor demanded.

Luke stepped forward. “Come on, Father. Surely the doctor knows best.”

“I am afraid I shall have to insist on you following the doctor’s orders,” Leia said.

Anakin blinked up at both of them. “Yes, ma’am,” he said quietly. He stood up and stalked off, grumbling. As he passed, Luke could swear he heard the words, “Just like your mother. Turning into a bunch of little Obi-Wans.”

Luke rolled his eyes and followed his father out the mess hall. He bumped into a young woman standing in the doorway. He got a flash of red hair and bright green eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t mention it,” the young woman murmured.

Luke smiled at her and hurried after Anakin, whose medical gown was flaring behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, there's not that much Mara in this chapter, but she's in the next chapter more, and I promise, she features in the rest of the story quite heavily. 
> 
> Next, Mara informs the Emperor of her findings.


	9. Attack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Palpatine enters the game again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I've been absent! This story isn't abandoned. Updates may be slower from now on, but we're getting very close to the end, believe it or not. I've been focusing on my original work and on The Last Apprentice, but this fic is still ongoing.

Mara Jade kneeled in front of the hologram of the Emperor in her new private quarters she had been granted after a rigorous interrogation to prove she was really a new recruit like she claimed. She was supposed to share the room with a female X-wing pilot but said X-wing pilot was currently sick in medbay. Apparently, she’d missed the attack on the Death Star due to that fact. Mara was glad she had the room to herself.

She could barely comprehend all the information she had gained in witnessing the spat with Vader in the mess hall. Nobody knew him by sight, but rumors had flown around the base about his apparent capture by Luke Skywalker, so when he showed up in the mess hall, a crowd gathered and gossiped while watching from a distance.

“Rise and report, my hand.”

Mara stood and clasped her hands behind her back. “I was successfully received into the ranks of the Rebel Alliance, master. They are eager to speak on the identity of the pilot who blew up the Death Star.”

“Yes,” the Emperor purred. “Tell me, child, what is his name?”

“Luke Skywalker. I am not entirely sure whether he is Force sensitive, but I think it is likely. He is the son of Darth Vader.”

The Emperor didn’t have much of a reaction, but Mara caught a flinch. He was startled. “Is that so?”

Mara nodded. “After I was accepted into the Rebels’ ranks, I witnessed a very…revealing encounter in the mess hall of the base.” Truth to tell, Mara was still processing everything that had been revealed to her in that conversation.

“Do tell,” the Emperor purred.

Where to start? “Darth Vader has been captured by the Rebel Alliance. Luke Skywalker and a smuggler named Han Solo are credited with his capture.” She took a deep breath. “Apparently he crashed on the moon after the DS-1 Orbital Battle Station blew up and suffered an injury that gave him amnesia.”

“Interesting…”

“He is not in his suit anymore. He broke out of his cell without violence to eat in the mess hall. Princess Leia Organa and Luke Skywalker came up to him and lectured him. In the conversation, Vader claimed he is no longer a Sith Lord and he is going to help the Rebels defeat the Empire. Organa and Skywalker admitted the Rebellion is considering accepting Vader as a defector. A doctor lectured Vader on leaving bed and eating when his body can’t handle it yet. Vader vomited and then left the mess hall to return to his cell. As they left, Skywalker referred to Vader as ‘Father’.”

The Emperor was silent for several long minutes. “I want you to befriend this Skywalker. Find out all you can about him and await further orders.”

Mara bowed. “Yes, master.”

Anakin curled up in his bed. That hadn’t gone exactly as he had planned. He’d been hoping for a nice meal, and then some father-son and father-daughter bonding time. Maybe they could fix a ship together. Instead, he’d puked up the meal and been chewed out by his daughter and the doctor. Even though everything else had changed around him, it seemed some things never would.

Luke sat patiently next to Anakin as the doctor fussed around him, inserting an IV, forcing him to eat some disgusting soup, and making him promise to follow instructions. Anakin did, even though of course he didn’t plan on following through. Since when had he ever followed instructions?

Leia had said quietly to Luke as Anakin returned to his room, “I’m going to go talk to Mon Mothma.”

Anakin hadn’t tried to stop her. Hopefully she was going to talk to Mothma about letting him escape from this doctor.

As Doctor Doctor finally stepped back from the fussing and the lecture, Anakin sat up in bed. “Can I get some real clothes?” He flashed a big grin. He wasn’t sure how effective it was with the bald head and the scars from the lava, but it was worth a try.

The doctor sighed. “I’ll see what I can do.” As he turned to leave, he shook a finger at Luke. “You keep him in bed.”

Luke smiled. “I’ll do my best.”

As the door hissed shut behind the doctor, Anakin sank down under the covers and turned to Luke. “You called me Father.”

Luke glanced up, startled, then ducked his head, hiding a sheepish grin. “I guess I did.”

Cold seeped into Anakin’s mind. _I hear you’ve had an accident, my wayward apprentice._

Anakin jumped. He squeezed the blankets. Palpatine. _What are you doing in my head?_

_What has happened to yours?_

Anakin gathered the Force to him and tried to shove Palpatine out of his mind. A spike of pain drove into his head. He let out a cry.

Darkness sank into him, into his mind.

_He was standing in the Senate chambers, whirling Padmé around._

_“Don’t, Anakin.”_

_He bent down and kissed his wife. “I missed you, Padmé.”_

_“There were whispers that you’d been killed.”_

_He cupped her neck with his hand. “I’m all right.”_

_He was standing on the bridge of the_ Invisible Hand _, handcuffed and escorted by droids. “General Grievous, you’re shorter than I expected.”_

_“Anakin, we have a job to do, try not to upset him.”_

_He was kneeling in a tent in a Tusken Raider camp on Tatooine, his dying mother in his arms. “Stay with me, Mom.”_

_He was on Korriban in battle, watching his friend get shot, get killed, because of his mistake. His arrogance._

_He was standing at a funeral pyre next to Obi-Wan, watching Qui-Gon’s dead body burn._

Palpatine was sifting through his memories.

“What’s wrong?” Luke asked.

His son. His bright son who shone in the Force. He reached out his hand. “Open…yourself in the Force.”

Luke took his hand. “I don’t know if I can.”

“You can.” Anakin grabbed onto his weak link with Luke. _I’m here._

_Father!_

_I need you to help me…push Palpatine out._

The cold pain dug into his mind once more. _He was standing in front of Padmé at the Senate. “Something’s wrong. You’re trembling.”_

_“Ani…something wonderful has happened. I’m pregnant.”_

_No,_ Palpatine hissed. _There’s more. There has to be something after that._

_“Something wonderful has happened. I’m pregnant.”_

Anakin gritted his teeth. _Get out._ He gathered strength from the Force once more and pulled on his link with Luke. _Help me._

Luke’s panicked voice flooded his mind. _What do I do?_

 _Just help me push._ Anakin drew on his strength and his son’s strength.

_“Something wonderful has happened. I’m pregnant.”_

_Where are the rest of your memories?_

_Nowhere you can find._ Anakin plucked at the dark bond linking him to the cold pain and shoved Palpatine out. The light from Luke’s warmth burned away the cold through their own bond. The claws of the Dark Side released from his brain.

Anakin heaved a sigh and collapsed onto his bed. “Good…job, son.” Exhaustion weighed down his muscles. He let his eyes slide closed.

Palpatine fell back onto his throne. His apprentice truly had lost his memories, and it would take more than a little Force prodding to get them back. He would need him closer, and even then… He wouldn’t be able to count on being able to bring Vader back. He shouldn’t have been able to just push him out like that, but he had, with the help of that Skywalker brat.

The child was certainly strong in the Force. He would make a good apprentice. But he would have to get to him before his _Jedi_ father influenced him too much.

He reached out to Mara Jade with the Force. _My Hand, you must bring Luke Skywalker and his father to me as soon as possible. Do it peacefully if at all possible._

_Yes, master._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next, Yoda makes an appearance! Also, Luke and Mara chat.


	10. Enter Mara, Stage Right

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yoda has to delay his nap. Luke has his first conversation with his future wife.

Yoda sank down onto his bed. It had been a long day, very interesting in the Force. He was almost ready for it to be over, but that wasn’t what the Force demanded of him. “Surprising news, this is.”

The ghost of Obi-Wan Kenobi hovered in Yoda’s small hut. “Yes, it’s quite shocking. However, it is a very welcome development. Anakin will need our help and support.”

Yoda hummed. “Very tricky this is. When regain his memories he does, what side of the Force will he be on?”

“I’m not sure. That is why he needs us, the support of his friends and family, to tie him to the Light. I am of the opinion that you should travel to Yavin IV as soon as possible.”

“Mmm, and why this, do you suggest?” Yoda settled his hands on his gimer stick. He would like to prepare himself for at least a nap, if not a good night’s sleep, but this situation was, unfortunately, more urgent. He used the Force to bolster his fatigue.

“Darth Sidious has just attacked Anakin’s mind with the intention of bringing his memories back and bringing him back to the Dark Side. He was able to push him away with the help of Luke, but I’m not sure how much longer they’ll be able to hold him off.”

Yoda suppressed a sigh. No need to be juvenile. He had hoped to simply train one or both Skywalkers and let them deal with Palpatine, but it seemed he would need to face his failures after all. He slid off his bed and started for his pod. “Right there, I will be. Needed, I suppose I am.” Skywalkers. Perpetually making his life harder than it needed to be.

Luke was reluctant to let go of his father’s hand and leave the room. The doctor pronounced him perfectly fine and said he should just let him rest, but he still was wary of leaving him. A chill had gripped him when Anakin pulled on their bond and hadn’t left since.

If only Ben was here. Luke didn’t understand any of this Force stuff. The best he could gather was that Emperor Palpatine had attacked his father through the Force. He hadn’t even been aware that the Emperor could use the Force. And without any training, Luke was useless.

The door hissed open and Leia walked in. She paused. “He’s asleep?”

Luke nodded. “He…I—I’m not exactly sure what happened, but I think he was attacked in the Force. By Palpatine.”

Leia gasped. “Is he all right?”

Luke nodded, a little surprised by the question. He hadn’t expected her to care so soon. By the wry expression on her face, she hadn’t expected it either. “He told me good job, so I assume that means we fought him off together. Do you think…” He trailed off, not exactly sure what he was asking.

Leia put a hand on his shoulder. “I think we should both get some dinner and go to bed. It’s getting pretty late.”

Luke nodded again. “That’s probably a good idea. Do you think he’ll wake up in the night?”

Leia sighed. “Luke, he is a grown man, he doesn’t need to be babysat through the night.”

Luke smiled. Anakin sitting in the dining hall in his medical gown popped into his mind. “I’m not sure that’s true.”

Leia resisted smiling as well. “I’m not dealing with him again today, or tonight. Come on, let’s go.”

Luke rose and followed her to the dining hall. Han and Chewie were waiting there, empty plates in front of them. Luke and Leia took their plates to them.

“So, what’s the tea?” Han asked. “How’s the old man?”

“Han!” Leia said sharply. “Don’t call him that!”

“Why not?” Han asked. “That’s what he is, right?”

“Someone might hear.”

“Hear what? Vader’s an old man?” He raised his voice and hollered through the dining hall. “Vader’s an old man!”

Luke choked on his dinner. He coughed hard. “Han, maybe you shouldn’t…”

“You know that’s not what I meant!” Leia hissed.

“What did you mean then?” Han asked.

Luke sighed. They’d only known each other a couple of days and yet Han and Leia had been arguing non-stop since they’d seen each other on the Death Star. He grabbed Han and Chewie’s empty plates. “I’m going to return these for you.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Han said.

“No, really,” Luke said. “It’s my pleasure.”

As he walked away, he could hear Han and Leia’s voices raised. He shook his head. Those two. He was never going to get any peace from them. He placed the plates in a basket filled with dirty dishes and turned back to the table. He bumped into a red-headed young woman.

He froze. “Oh, I’m sorry. Wait, aren’t you…?” He smiled. “We bumped into each other earlier.”

The young woman smiled and flushed. “Yes, we did.” She placed an empty plate in the basket. “Aren’t you…are you Luke Skywalker? Hero of the Rebellion?”

Luke’s face grew hot. “I wouldn’t exactly…well, I guess…I am Luke. Luke Skywalker. Is that what they’re calling me?” He scratched his head. She was pretty. Really pretty.

“Well, you did blow up the Death Star. I’d say the title fits pretty well.” She smiled and ducked her head. “I’m Mara.” Her eyes widened and she flinched back. She seemed to sigh. “Mara Jade.”

Luke smiled. “Nice to…meet you. Sorry for bumping into you. Again.”

Mara shook her head. “It was my fault. I shouldn’t have stood so close.”

Luke started to walk back to his table. Mara fell in beside him.

“Is it true that you captured Darth Vader?” she asked.

“No. Well, yes, in a way, I suppose. It’s complicated. Do you…want to eat dinner with me?” He turned to her, somewhat flushed.

“I’ve already eaten dinner.” Oh, of course. She had been returning a plate. She must think him so stupid! “But I’d be glad to sit with you.”

Luke flushed and sat down at his table.

Leia broke out of her shouting match with Han to look over Mara. “Who’s this?”

“I’m Mara Jade. I defected from the Empire after I heard Darth Vader did.”

“Word’s going around that Darth Vader defected?” Leia asked.

“There are many rumors going around,” Mara said. “Given Darth Vader’s known dislike of Tarkin and his voiced disagreement with what happened to Alderaan, many are speculating that his sudden disappearance is due to his defection.” She took a deep breath. “Alderaan is…also why I defected.”

Luke smiled warmly. “Well, we’re glad to have you with the Rebellion.”

Mara smiled back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next, Anakin and Mara meet, and Skywalkers do what they do best. Han wonders where his life has gone.
> 
> I promise, the next chapter is quite a bit longer. We're coming close to the action here!


	11. Little 'Soka

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anakin and Mara meet. Han wonders what happened to his life.

Anakin woke to Leia by his bedside. She had her hand on a tray of food and seemed rather worried.

He sat up slowly and pulled the tray close. “Hello.”

Leia crossed her arms. “Are you all right?”

Anakin paused, then nodded. He felt fine, and he didn’t have an overeager Sith Lord poking around in his brain anymore. “I’m fine. How about you?”

Leia took in a sharp breath. “Fine. Just fine.” Her voice was taut, and the air thickened with worry and fear.

“Are you sure?” She didn’t seem very fine.

“Positive. Has…has Palpatine attacked you again?” Worry, fear, and guilt stirred in her.

Oh. “Leia, I’m fine. He hasn’t attacked me again. You don’t need to worry.” He tucked into the nasty paste he had been served for breakfast. It appeared to be some sort of bland mushed fruit.

“I’m not worried!”

“And you don’t need to feel guilty for being worried, either. It’s okay for you to care about me, even if I am a former Sith Lord.” He smiled. His daughter was worried about him.

Leia relaxed somewhat. “Are you sure you’re okay? Can you fight off Palpatine again if he attacks you again? Did he get anything from you?”

“I’m sure I’m okay. I might be able to fight off Palpatine again, but I’m not sure. I’ll be more prepared, but so will he. I’m pretty sure he didn’t get anything that he didn’t already know. He was sifting through my memories and trying to bring the lost ones back.”

Leia drew in a sharp breath, her skin whitening. “Do you think he can?”

Anakin shrugged. “I’ve never dealt with anything like this before, so I have no clue. He seemed pretty clueless too, though, so I’d guess maybe not?”

Leia sighed. “I…I don’t…”

A soft knock sounded on the door.

Anakin reached out in the Force. His sunny son was standing on the other side of the door. “Come in.”

The door opened. “Good morning.” Luke smiled bashfully. “Do you, ah, want to meet someone else? She defected because of you and she kind of wants to say thank you.”

“Is it that defector from before? I’m not sure that’s a good idea. She seems nice, but you barely know her,” Leia said.

Luke shrugged and turned his pleading blue eyes to Anakin.

Already only a day or so in and Anakin was already arbitrating between his children. “If you think it’s alright, Luke, I guess I’m fine with it, at least for a little bit.”

Luke smiled. “Thanks, Father. How are you feeling?”

Anakin shrugged. “Fine. Good job last night.”

Luke shrugged back. “I didn’t even know what I was doing.”

“You still did a very good job. You’re very strong in the Force, you and your sister both. Though, Leia, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to learn how to shield. You have strong emotions, and they bleed all over the place.”

“That’s what General Kenobi said,” Leia murmured.

“I’ll, uh…go get Mara.” Luke ducked out of the room. The door slid shut behind him.

“Mara,” Anakin repeated. The name plucked a chord in his brain but didn’t bring any actual memories. “That name sounds vaguely familiar.”

“She’s a recently defected Imperial. She says that Alderaan and your defection caused her to defect.” Leia was matter-of-fact, with a touch of skepticism.

“Alderaan?”

Leia straightened and whitened even further. “You don’t know?”

“Know what? What happened on Alderaan?” Hopefully Bail was all right. He was one of Padmé’s closest friends. One of his few friends.

“The Empire blew it up with the Death Star. It was Tarkin’s idea.” Tight anger filled Leia’s voice. She tightened her hands into fists and her breathing became ragged.

Anakin’s eye twitched. “Of course it was. He’s a monster. He tried to execute my padawan when she’d done nothing wrong. And that was before he was in an empire ruled by a Sith lord.” His heart pounded painfully. He didn’t want to ask the question. He didn’t want to find out that everyone he’d ever known was dead, but he needed to know. “What happened to Bail? Or Breha? He was your adopted father, wasn’t he? He wasn’t on planet at the time, surely.”

Leia’s face crumpled for a second before she pulled it back behind a mask. “He was. They both were.”

He flinched. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” At least Luke had blown up the Death Star, so no other planets could be blown up. “Was Tarkin on the Death Star when it blew up?”

Leia nodded. “As far as we know, yes.”

“Good.” Anakin didn’t even try to keep the righteous fury out of his voice. He didn’t regret not having to see that man again.

The door hissed open. Luke strode in, a young woman with fiery red hair and bright green eyes on his heels. Again, Anakin was plagued with a sensation of familiarity. “Mara, was it? Have we met before?” He stuck out his hand for her to shake.

She stepped forward and shook it. “A few times. Though I don’t think you liked me very much.”

Anakin shrugged. “You wanted to meet me?”

Luke shoved his hands into his pockets and shuffled his feet behind her. Anakin tried not to smile. Vague familiarity or not, it was clear his son was developing a crush on this girl.

Mara nodded. “I…your defection gave me the courage to act on my convictions and leave too. So thank you.”

“You’re…welcome. I didn’t exactly choose to defect, but…” Anakin shrugged. “I’m glad you left, too.”

Mara gave a faint smile. “I heard about the, uh, amnesia. I don’t suppose…you don’t remember anything, so you wouldn’t remember…”

Leia frowned. “Remember what?”

“My Jedi Master. She was captured by the Empire a few years ago. She…raised me, but after she was captured…I promised to work for the Empire to keep her safe. She wasn’t a real Jedi, she’d left before the Purge, I think that’s why they didn’t kill her right away, but now that I’ve left…I just wondered if you knew where she was being kept so I could ask the Rebellion to help rescue her.”

“I don’t think the Empire would keep a Jedi just to manipulate you…what did you do for them?” Leia asked.

“Leia!” Luke exclaimed.

They might not for a random kid, but if they wanted to manipulate someone else as well… There were several female Jedi that had left before the Purge, but it was possible it was his beloved padawan. “Why did your master leave the Order?”

“She was falsely accused of a crime she didn’t commit. It jaded her,” Mara said.

It was Ahsoka! Mara had been raised by Ahsoka, but they had been captured, and Mara had probably become Palpatine’s stooge, just like he was. Ahsoka was kept alive to manipulate both of them. That would explain why he vaguely recognized her. When Mara heard about how _he_ had managed to actually escape, she had the bravery to follow him, but now she wanted help to rescue Ahsoka. “Was your Jedi master a Togruta?”

“Yes! Do you know her?” Mara darted forward.

“She was my padawan! She was falsely accused of murder and left the Order. She was actually expelled. We tried to welcome her back, but…” His voice dropped. This was still one of the worst moments of his life. “She wouldn’t come back.”

“The last time they let me see her, she was being held in a basement room in the Imperial Palace. I can’t rescue her alone, but together… You’ve been called a one-man army before. Surely together we can save her!” Mara said.

Leia sighed. “The Rebellion won’t authorize a mission to rescue her. We have no way to break into Imperial Palace.”

“What’s Imperial Palace?” Luke asked.

Leia looked like she’d swallow something sour. “It used to be the Jedi Temple, before Palpatine took it over.”

“I can sneak into the Jedi Temple easy,” Anakin said. “I don’t need authorization from the Rebel Alliance to rescue Ahsoka. I’m going to need clothes, real clothes, and a lightsaber.”

Luke sighed. “I suppose you’ll want yours back?”

Anakin smiled. He’d lost plenty of lightsabers before; he’d be glad to see one of his in the hands of his son. It was clear the lightsaber meant a lot to him. “You can keep it, for now. I can use my Sith lightsaber for now. Though, as I said, you’re going to have to make your own one day. It’s one of the first steps a Jedi Padawan takes on their journey to becoming a Jedi knight.”

“I have a lightsaber of my own,” Mara said. “I was…an assassin for the Emperor. That’s why he kept Master Ahsoka around to manipulate me.” She gave a pointed look at Leia. “I can help on the mission.”

Leia sighed. “I don’t think this is a very good idea, but… somehow I think you three are going to go no matter what I say. At least if I go with you, you’ll have authorization from one high member of the Alliance.”

“We’ll need a ship,” Mara said.

“I know a guy,” Luke said.

Han sat sprawled in the seat in the main hold opposite the dejarik table, spinning a hydrospanner in his fingers. “I don’t know, Chewie, all of this seems so crazy to me. I don’t want to get entangled in all this family drama.” All he’d wanted was to pay off his debt to Jabba by getting a good paycheck. Now, he’d adopted a newly-orphaned kid as his baby brother and suddenly found himself involved in the Rebellion against the Empire and that the kid he saved was the twin brother of the princess they’d rescued and their daddy was Darth Vader, also apparently known as Anakin Skywalker, Han’s childhood hero. Which meant the old man had been the Negotiator, and Han was way in over his head.

[You already are entangled,] Chewie said. [Or did you help the young cub blow up the Death Star for the fun of it?]

Han pointed at Chewie. “I can leave anytime!”

[Uh-huh.]

“Anytime!”

Chewie crossed his arms. [Then why haven’t you left yet?]

“Because…” Han realized he had no defense against that.

Luke and Leia strode into his ship, and between them was a tall, cloaked man wearing dark clothes and with a lightsaber on belt. Wait, that was…

Han yelped. The hydrospanner clattered to the floor. Darth Vader was on his ship!

Warring impulses battled in him. The orphaned pickpocket turned smuggler wanted to fire and run as fast as possible. The former Imperial lieutenant wanted to snap a salute and shout, “My lord!”

He settled for picking up his hydrospanner and pretending like Vader’s presence on his ship was an everyday occurrence, taking out his nervousness in squeezing the hydrospanner as hard as possible. That redhead Imperial Luke was crushing on followed behind the three-man dream team facing him. Or rather, the three-man disaster nightmare. If he was sensible, he’d scream and run the other way as fast as he was able.

Sadly, Han Solo had never been a sensible man.

“So, what brings the Skywalker disasters on my ship?”

Luke leaned forward. “Han, we need your help to go rescue a Jedi.”

“A Jedi! Look, kid, I’ve had enough of—” Han started.

“Chewbacca?” Vader stepped forward, eyes trained on Han’s copilot and best friend.

“You know this furball?” Han should have run when he had the chance, before the chaos following the Skywalker family upended his life as well. It was too late now. Chewie had known Vader?

“You saved Ahsoka’s life once. My padawan,” Vader addressed that last bit at Han. “I remember you, when you escorted her to the Temple. I know I said it before, but thank you for helping her.”

[Meeting your cub was a pleasure,] Chewie said. [She saved my life as much as I saved hers. We owe each other a great debt.]

“Well, great! Because we need your help to rescue her. She’s being imprisoned in the basement of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, and we need a fast ship to fly us there,” Vader said.

[Of course we will help rescue little ‘Soka. When do we leave?] Chewie asked.

“Now, hang on!” Vader wanted to commandeer _his_ ship to save…his kid or something? Who Chewie had known and rescued? It had to have been back in the Clone Wars, because Chewie hated the Empire, always had. “This is my ship, you can’t just volunteer to fly it into Imperial Center. We’d get killed! I’m not sacrificing my ship for some half-baked rescue plan that won’t get off the ground. Remember how that went for us last time? Uh-uh, not in my ship, sister.”

“Listen, you—” the redhead started.

[We are going to rescue little ‘Soka! You can come with us or be left behind, little cub! You will be safe on the base until I return, but I will not leave that sweet child to be tortured and enslaved by the Empire!] Chewie roared.

Han knew when he’d been beaten. Chewie so rarely insisted on things that it had to be important when he did. This was going to get them all killed, but maybe doing it in the fastest ship in the galaxy would slightly increase their chances of coming back alive.

Slightly.

He was so going to regret doing this.

Han raised his hands in the air. “All right, all right! But you’d better have a good rescue plan, because that place is a death trap.”

“Don’t worry, I have a plan.” Vader smiled widely.

Han rubbed his hand over his chin. “Why doesn’t that reassure me?” he mumbled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've finally finished Amnesia! There are going to be fourteen chapters and an epilogue.   
> No, Mara, didn't know anything about Ahsoka. She made up the "female Jedi master, left during the Clone Wars because she was falsely accused of a crime" part, and when Anakin assumed she was talking about Ahsoka, she went with it. Anakin is determined to rescue Ahsoka, Luke will do anything Mara needs, and Leia's skeptical, but knows Luke and Anakin won't listen to her, so is resigned to going along and trying to keep them from getting themselves killed.  
> Next, Anakin and crew arrive at Coruscant!


	12. What Are You Talking About? I'm Totally Darth Vader!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our disaster friends reach Coruscant.

Yoda knew as soon as he pulled into space near Yavin that Anakin was already gone. Of course he was. Troublesome kid never could make life easy, could he?

 _“They’ve just left for Coruscant,”_ Obi-Wan said.

“Mmm, not good that is,” Yoda said. Back to the light, temporarily at the very least, for only a couple of days and already Anakin was trying to storm Coruscant. What exactly did he think he was going to accomplish? “Reckless, young Skywalker has always been. What else I expected, I do not know.” He punched in the coordinates for Coruscant and sent his ship back into hyperspace.

Coruscant didn’t look that different from space, but in the Force, Anakin could feel the changes. “It’s so dark,” he whispered. The darkness was oppressive, so much worse than it had gotten during the Clone Wars. And Sidious—he could feel Sidious. The nasty, twisted, slimy Force signature blossomed throughout the Force, putting a bad taste in his mouth.

The dark presence tugged at his own mind. His stomach churned as he realized that was a bond. He had a Force bond with Palpatine.

 _“Welcome back, my young apprentice,”_ Palpatine’s voice hissed in his mind.

Anakin did his best not to jump and squashed down his squirreling panic. Act natural, act natural! _Hello, my master. How’s it…going today?_ He cringed. Never in the history of ever had he ever just casually asked Palpatine how his day went. And somehow, Anakin didn’t think Sith normally took the time to exchange pleasantries.

_“Are you feeling all right?”_

_No! Just…coming back to my home on Coruscant to rest. Imperial Center! I’m coming back to_ Imperial Center _to rest from my, uh, grievous injuries after the Death Star blew up. Don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll be back to normal in no time! Murdering people and…all that…_

There was a long pause. _“See that you are.”_ Palpatine retreated from his mind.

Anakin sighed and closed off his part of the bond.

A Republic cruiser was blocking their flight path. The _Falcon_ pulled back and hovered in front of the blockade.

“This is where it gets tricky,” Han said. He flipped the switch to activate the comm. “Uh, this is Lieutenant Han Solo of the Imperial Navy requesting clearance to land this newly-acquisitioned Imperial vessel at the coordinates we’re sending over now.”

“Stand by for clearance,” a bored voice said. “What is your purpose here on Coruscant?”

“Uh…” Han glanced back at Anakin and turned to the comms again. “Ferrying Darth Vader to his residence in the Imperial City.”

“These coordinates are for a hanger in the undercity of Coruscant, not Lord Vader’s residence. And our information says that Lieutenant Han Solo was dishonorably discharged from the Imperial Navy five years ago.”

Anakin darted forward. “He’s with me!”

“What?”

Anakin coughed hard. He tried to lower his voice to the same pitch his vocoder had been. “I have reinstated Lieutenant Solo to his previous position in the Imperial Navy due to his…honorable actions in the Battle of Yavin and afterwards saving my life. He is under my command. His actions are not to be questioned. Give us the authorization to land.”

“Who is this?”

“This is Darth Vader! Do not question me! Give me clearance to land or I will…choke you to death with my Force powers.”

“If you truly are Darth Vader, then send over your authorization code and we’ll clear you to land immediately.”

“I, uh…forgot it.” Anakin grimaced. That was entirely true! He _was_ Darth Vader and he _had_ forgotten his clearance codes.

Mara sighed and leaned forward. “Sending it over to you now.” She typed in a clearance code.

There was a long pause. “You are cleared to land, Lieutenant Solo. Sorry about that.”

Anakin let out a sigh of relief and sat back down in his seat. Han flicked off the comm and flew around the Republic cruiser to land on Coruscant’s surface.

“How’d you know my clearance codes?” Anakin asked.

“Those were _my_ clearance codes,” Mara said. She was staring at him like he’d turned into a lothcat when she wasn’t looking.

Anakin turned and found his children were staring at him in the same way. “What?”

“You certainly have changed,” Leia remarked.

Luke started to laugh.

Anakin scowled and crossed his arms over his chest. “Oh, shut up,” he mumbled.

Even though Anakin was leading them through his lesser-used route to illegal swoop bike racing instead of his route to see Padmé, he had no trouble remembering every twist and turn of this secret way into and out of the Temple. Thankfully, it was as deserted and easy to navigate as it always had been. Either he’d forgotten about it as a Sith Lord or kept it to himself as a secret way out of Palpatine’s current residence.

The air around the Temple reeked of sadness, of darkness, of betrayal. The perversion of his home weighed heavily on him.

“This is spooky,” Han said as they navigated the craggy, abandoned basement passages of the Temple.

“Shh!” Luke and Leia hushed him at the same time.

“Where did you last see Ahsoka?” Anakin asked. Through this oppressive darkness, he couldn’t sense his former apprentice, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t here.

“I’m not sure exactly,” Mara said. “The basement levels are very hard to navigate.”

Anakin snorted. “Of course they are. No one knows how far down they go or where they all lead. All padawans get lost in the Temple sublevels at least once. It’s a rite of passage.”

“Why do you know a way to sneak into the lower levels of Coruscant from the Temple?” Leia asked.

The passage came to an end. Anakin lightly pressed his fingers against the secret door. It creaked open to reveal a dark, empty sublevel corridor. He hopped out and turned to help Leia out. “Swoop bike racing.”

Leia brushed him off and hopped out on her own.

Anakin shrugged and turned back to lead his way through the twisting tunnels of the Temple sublevels. “I can think of a few places down here where they might be keeping her. We’ll check there first.”

Luke, Mara, Han, and Chewbacca emerged out of the passage. Chewbacca closed the door behind him.

“It’s very dark in here,” Luke remarked.

Anakin drew his lightsaber and activated it, holding it high above his head to cast more light on their surroundings. The red color twisted his stomach, but he forced himself to ignore it. There was nothing he could do about that now.

Luke did the same with Anakin’s old lightsaber.

“Follow me.” Anakin led the way through the old corridors. They were all dark and abandoned. In a few spots, he could feel the horrible impressions of a Jedi’s last moment.

He latched onto the light of his son and didn’t let go. This darkness was too much.

He rounded a corner into an open, sublevel atrium and froze.

A shrouded figure stood in the middle of the room. Cackling laughter filled the space.

Palpatine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next, Anakin and Co. confront Palpatine.


	13. Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fight with Palpatine begins

Anakin tightened his grip around his lightsaber. “Step aside, Sidious.”

Mara stepped forward and knelt before him.

Anakin’s chest twisted. No. Mara had said she’d left the Empire, like he had!

“Mara, what are you doing?” Luke asked.

“You have done well, my Hand,” Palpatine said. “Welcome, Vader, or should I say, _Anakin Skywalker_.”

Anakin swallowed hard. “What are you doing here?”

“What are _you_ doing here, in my home?” Palpatine returned mildly.

“This is not your home!” Anakin bristled and began circling Palpatine slowly. “This is mine. You have no right to be here!”

Mara sprang up and stood by her master’s side. Her _master_.

“Where is Ahsoka?” Anakin asked.

Palpatine slowly spun to keep facing Anakin. “Who?”

“Ahsoka Tano, my apprentice,” Anakin spat. He slowly circled. Just a few more feet, and Palpatine would have his back to Luke.

“How should I know?” Palpatine snapped. “I haven’t seen her in years.”

There. Anakin charged, lightsaber held high. Luke charged on the other side.

His lightsaber clashed against a red lightsaber. Luke was blocked by another.

Palpatine pushed them both away and spun his two red lightsabers in the air, chuckling. “So, you’ve finally decided to supplant me. And you’ve got your son to help you!”

Leia, Han and Chewbacca began to fire at Palpatine. Mara sprang forward, a violet blade glowing in her hand, and blocked the fire.

“Your reign is at an end, Sidious,” Anakin said.

Palpatine chuckled. “So it begins, then. Good.”

Luke was struggling. A week ago, he’d never even seen a lightsaber. Now, he was in a fight for his life against the emperor of the galaxy. Who had two lightsabers.

If it wasn’t for his father, Luke knew he’d already be dead. Anakin was taking the brunt of the fight, shouting occasional insults to keep the Emperor’s eyes fixed on him. That didn’t keep Luke from continually receiving nicks and burns from the lightsaber.

“You’re weak, old man,” Anakin said. “Arthritis really is a kicker at your age, huh?” He spun and brought his lightsaber down on Palpatine.

Palpatine blocked it with one lightsaber and struck out at Luke’s side with the other. Luke barely dodged the strike, heat singeing his ribs.

“You don’t have to work for the Emperor,” Leia said. “You can actually defect! Vader did!”

“The Emperor’s done nothing wrong!” Mara yelled.

“What?” Luke spun around. How could Mara think that?

“Luke!” Anakin shouted.

Luke spun back. The Emperor’s lightsaber was arcing towards his face. He tried to block it, but the Emperor pushed it aside and stabbed his lightsaber forward.

Pain spread from Luke’s stomach. He gasped. His lightsaber fell from nerveless fingers. He fell to his knees and then to the floor, darkness closing in.

“No!” Anakin dashed forward to catch his son in his arms, but Palpatine blocked his path. He furiously attacked him, but even his Djem So couldn’t keep back Palpatine’s skilled Jar’Kai. “You monster.”

“You’re the one that brought an unskilled combatant to a battlefield,” Palpatine commented.

“This wasn’t supposed to be a battlefield!” Anakin raged. “I just wanted to rescue Ahsoka.”

“And you just wanted to save your wife when you wiped out all the Jedi,” Palpatine commented mildly as he brought both lightsabers down on Anakin.

Anakin met the two lightsabers with his and braced himself against the floor. His arms shook with the strain of keeping Palpatine back.

“Yet you ended up the sole cause of her death.”

Anakin faltered. Obi-Wan had told him she had forgiven him, but how could he forgive himself? She was his wife, and he’d broken her heart and caused her to die.

Palpatine kicked him in the face. Pain flooded through Anakin. Involuntary tears filled his eyes. He was blasted back with the Force. He landed hard against the wall. His lightsaber flew out of his hand. He fell, crumpled, to the floor, gasping for breath.

He slowly pushed himself up. Palpatine was stalking towards him, hands raised. Anakin wrapped his arms around his head moments before the lightning hit.

Crackling pain enveloped him. He screamed, falling to the floor writhing. It was so much more painful than Dooku’s lightning. So much worse.

“Your feeble skills are no match for the power of the Dark Side,” Palpatine snapped. “You were great once. You were my closest ally, my friend. You could be so again. You have only to ask!”

The intensity of the lightning increased, and with it, Anakin’s pain. All he could do was scream. He could feel Palpatine digging into his mind, but he didn’t have the strength to fight back.

“Leave…me…alone!”

“Now let Anakin Skywalker perish once more, and let rise Darth Vader, lord of the Sith!” Palpatine tugged at Anakin’s most precious memory.

_“Something wonderful has happened. Ani, I’m pregnant.”_

But this time, the memory didn’t stop.

_“Like the dreams about my mother, just before she died?”_

_“And?”_

_“And it was about you.”_

_“Learn to let go of all that you fear to lose.”_

_“Did you ever hear the tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise?”_

_“Is it possible to learn this power?”_

_“You’re the Sith Lord!”_

_“What have I done?”_

_“Do what must be done, Lord Vader. Do not hesitate, show no mercy.”_

_“Master Skywalker, there’s too many of them. What are we going to do?”_

_“Anakin, you’re breaking my heart. You’re going down a path I can’t follow.”_

_“You were the Chosen One! You were supposed to destroy the Sith, not join them! Bring balance to the Force, not leave it in darkness!”_

_“It seems, in your anger, you killed her.”_

_“When I mentioned Mustafar to you the other day, I fear I upset you.”_

_“Save your fears for yourself.”_

_“I am Pooja Naberrie, the new senator for Naboo.”_

_“Darth Vader. Only you could be so bold.”_

_“Do not be so proud of this technological terror you’ve constructed.”_

_“But Alderaan is peaceful, we have no weapons!”_

_“You want another target, a military target, then name the system!”_

_“If you strike me down, I will become more powerful than you could ever imagine.”_

_“I’m taking an awful risk, Vader.”_

He remembered.

He remembered everything.


	14. The End of All Things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fight against Palpatine concludes.

Leia cradled her brother’s head in her lap. Mara had dropped her lightsaber in shock when Luke was stabbed and was now being held at gunpoint by Han and Chewbacca. Luke was unconscious, but Leia was strangely sure the wound wasn’t deadly.

If he could get medical attention in time.

And the way things were looking, no one was going to be leaving this room alive.

Vader—her _father_ was kneeling in front of Palpatine, smoke rising from his clothes. His face was in his hands and he was groaning. “No…no!”

“Welcome back, Lord Vader. Now rise and destroy these threats to the order of the galaxy!” Palpatine spread his hands, raising them up to the ceiling.

“Don’t listen to him!” Leia shouted desperately. This was why she hadn’t wanted to start caring about him. When he got his memories back, Leia would just lose another father. But it was too late. She had started to care. She and Luke had both started to care. “You don’t have to be a Sith if you don’t want to! You can choose a different fate! The Rebel Alliance is made up of defectors!”

“Once…you start down the dark path…forever will it dominate your destiny,” Vader gasped.

Leia shook her head. “No… you can come back! Luke believed in you! You can’t let him down!”

He trembled, his hands turning into fists.

“Rise, my apprentice, and show them what a Sith truly is!”

Vader rose to his feet, shaking, sweat dripping off his face. “I…am…a Jedi, and I will be your slave no longer!” He stretched out his hands, pulling both his Jedi lightsaber and his Sith lightsaber into them. Red and blue filled the air, illuminating his scarred face. “I am a person, and my name is Anakin!”

Anakin fought more furiously than ever before. All he really wanted to do was break down and cry, scream into the void, or possibly jump off a really high cliff, but his children needed him. If he didn’t defeat Palpatine now, his children would die, or suffer the same fate he’d been trapped in for the past nineteen years.

And he refused to ignore slavery any longer. This ended now.

“This is the end for you, my master,” he said. Long ago, he’d said those words to Obi-Wan, but it was Palpatine who deserved them. Palpatine had always deserved them.

“You can’t beat me,” Palpatine said. “You’re too weak. Even now, I can feel you shaking in your boots.” His lightsabers clashed against Anakin’s.

Anakin shook with the effort of holding him back, trying to gasp for breath. The lightning had weakened him. Pain shook through his muscles, but he pushed it to the back of his mind. He could collapse after Palpatine was dead. “My destiny…is to beat you. I am…the Chosen One. I will…bring balance to the Force. Starting with you.”

“You will fail!” Palpatine swept Anakin’s legs out from under him. He fell hard to the ground. The lightsabers descended faster than he could block them.

A green lightsaber interposed itself between Anakin’s face and Palpatine’s lightsabers. “Not if anything to say about it, I have!”

Master Yoda! Anakin crawled out from underneath the lightsabers and scrambled to his feet. “Good to see you again.” He charged Palpatine again. His lightsabers clashed with one of Palpatine’s.

Yoda leapt into the air, blocking a strike from above. “Likewise, young Skywalker.”

Together, Anakin and Yoda beat Palpatine back until he was pinned against the wall. Anakin swept his lightsabers down across Palpatine’s wrists, cutting off his hands. He placed his lightsabers, crossed, on either side of his Sith master’s neck.

“Anakin…Anakin, please!” Palpatine cried.

“Don’t do it?” Anakin guessed. He uncrossed his lightsabers. Palpatine fell to the floor dead. His body exploded, sending a Dark Side wind blowing through the room.

Anakin dropped his lightsabers and collapsed to the floor. He’d finally done it. He didn’t believe it. Palpatine was finally dead. He was free. They were all free.

“I need a drink,” he moaned, as darkness closed in around him.

Anakin woke up in a bed in a medbay, feeling better than he had in years. He yawned and stretched, grimacing at the taste of bacta in his mouth. “How long was I out?”

“Longer than you would think.”

“Luke!”

Luke was in another bed right next to him, pale and worn, but smiling. “Hello, Father.”

Anakin smiled. “You’re alive!”

“So are you,” Luke replied.

“Father!” Leia bolted in and enveloped him in a hug. “How are you feeling?”

“Great! What happened?”

Yoda, Han, and Chewie followed in behind.

Leia let go of him to embrace Luke. “Some of your shoddy prosthetics gave out under the lightning. Thanks to Master Yoda and the best doctors in the galaxy, you’re practically back to normal.”

“They even gave you the latest in prosthetics, with synthskin and everything!” Luke chimed in.

Synthskin? Anakin turned to his limbs and wiggled his fingers and toes. He had skin! Real skin! Well, fake skin, but who could tell the difference? He certainly couldn’t. He could feel things and touch things and…was that hair? Yes, he had the beginnings of hair growing again. “How… I thought I was injured for good! I thought some things couldn’t be fixed!”

“A gift, from the Force it is. Its child it wanted back, now that chosen the Light you have,” Yoda said.

The Light. Memories flooded back. Anakin flinched. “I suppose…what happens now? Does your Rebellion try me for…everything?”

Han snorted. “That might be a little hard, seeing as how…um…” He trailed off awkwardly.

Leia straightened. “They already decided to receive you as a defector. Has your mind changed since then?”

Changed? He’d gotten nineteen years of nightmarish memories he wanted to wipe from his brain, but that had only served to make him hate the Sith and the Empire more. How could he have lost himself so much, forgotten who he really was? Had his arrogance, desperation, and depression blinded him that much? “No, not really.”

“Then our stance has not changed. You are welcome in the Alliance, provided one thing,” Leia said, crossing her arms.

“One thing? What one thing?”

“Therapy.” Yoda thumped his cane against the floor. “You need therapy.”

And…yeah, Anakin couldn’t argue with that. “All right. I’ll agree to those terms. When do we start? With Palpatine gone, it’ll be that much easier to fight the Empire. Infighting will tear it apart. If we don’t act now, we may lose our opportunity to wipe them out once and for all. It’ll still be an uphill battle for a while.”

“Yeah…” Han drawled.

“Um…” Luke started.

“About that…” Leia said.

A stormtrooper poked his head in. “Shall I announce to the media you are awake, Emperor Vader, or do you wish to keep that a secret for now?”

Anakin’s eyes bugged out of his head. “Emperor…Vader? Me?”

“Captain Thrawn and the Moff Council are awaiting orders, sir.”

Yoda laughed.

“How shall we proceed with the Emperor’s Hand? She’s currently under arrest by the orders of Prince Luke and Princess Leia, sir.”

Anakin fainted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After this is an epilogue, and then we're done!


	15. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What more can I say? It's an epilogue.

**Four Years Later**

Ahsoka curled over, laughing. “You fainted?”

Anakin scowled, picking at the surface of his desk. “It’s not funny, Snips. They made me Emperor of the galaxy!”

“You seem to have done a good job,” Ahsoka remarked, then grinned. “Your majesty.”

Anakin groaned. “You can’t call me that anymore. As of three hours ago, I resigned. The entire galaxy has been united again in a Republic, and now politics is not my problem anymore.” He put his hands behind his head and stretched out in his chair.

Ahsoka curled up in her own chair on the other side of his desk. “What happened then? I’ve been trapped in a Sith temple for years. I’m not exactly up on the times.”

“Well, we destroyed a bunch of Emperor’s hands that were knocking around the galaxy. Some dude that called himself Black Hole, some weirdo named Shira Brie that tried to creep on my son. There was one lady that claimed her son was Palpatine’s illegitimate son, but I don’t believe that for one second. Anyway, we wound up having to fight to the death with them, too. We blew up the Sun Crusher and Palpatine’s asteroid ship, which had a Jedi ghost in the computer that _also_ tried to creep on my son, got lost in the Maw and killed the Mother, destroyed Wayland and Byss, with a bunch of creepy Palpatine clones, defeated all factions of the Empire warring against me, built a Senate and transitioned into a Republic, and—oh! We got lost in the asteroid ship for a while and ran into an extra-galactic lizard species that can’t touch the Force, but we accidentally lured them to a Sith planet, and after an army of Sith attacked the lizard people, the lizard people destroyed the Sith and their planet and the Sith, along with the Alliance and the Empire and the asteroid ship managed to beat their leaders and blow up the people that were in charge, so I convinced the rest that it would be in their best interest to make a treaty with us. I don’t think they’ll be coming back any time soon. Oh, and we cleared the Dark Side stain on the Temple, which took _a lot_ of work, and killed the ghost of Exar Kun, he was harassing the Rebels on Yavin IV, and now we’re restarting the Jedi Order. Want to join?”

Ahsoka laughed. “Who’s we?”

“Me, Yoda, Luke, Leia, and Mara, for starters.” It had taken Leia a while to warm up to the idea of Jedi training (“What if I turn to the Dark Side, just like you?”), but after they’d both had several consistent years of therapy, she’d become excited about it. Though, the therapy sessions had tended to be holographic sessions across the galaxy in between battles and crazy adventures, but eventually Anakin had cleaned up the galaxy and wasn’t trying to run from his problems by getting into near-death situations anymore.

“Mara? The Emperor’s Hand? I thought you said you destroyed them.”

“Yeah, well, she wasn’t too bad. She wound up surprisingly innocent. I don’t think she realized most of the Empire’s atrocities were real. Her and Luke are really close, even though she pretends they’re not. I think you two will get along very well.” Actually, Mara and Ahsoka unleashed on the galaxy together might create untold levels of havoc, but Anakin didn’t want life to get boring.

“Father!” Leia strode into the office, Luke on her heels. Both were dressed as Jedi. Luke had his own lightsaber hanging from his belt. Anakin had his old one back, safe and sound on his belt. Leia hadn’t gotten around to building one of her own, since she’d been swamped with political work.

“Is the Senate session over already?” Anakin asked.

Leia nodded and bent down to kiss his cheek. “Today was just a ceremonial session.”

“The real arguing begins tomorrow,” Han said, leaning against the doorway.

“How’d Mon Mothma do?” Anakin asked.

“She was—” Leia started.

“Uh-uh.” Anakin raised his hand and gazed at Luke.

“I hate politics,” was Luke’s reply.

Anakin grinned. “No, you don’t. What did you think?”

Luke shrugged. “Mon Mothma seemed to take to the office of Chancellor well. She had most of the other senators agreeing with her.”

Anakin nodded. “She’ll do well. Now, Ahsoka, what’s your answer? Want to help us build the next generation of Jedi?”

The three kids turned to Ahsoka, as if they hadn’t noticed her before.

“Who are you?” Luke asked.

Ahsoka stood up. “I’m Ahsoka Tano, your aunt. Of course I’ll help, Anakin. What do you take me for?”

Anakin grinned and stood up, slinging an arm around each kid’s shoulders. “Great to have you back, Snips. Come on, let’s go to dinner. You know, attachments are going to be allowed in this new Jedi Order, which means you can go on dates now.”

“I’m not exactly the dating type,” Ahsoka started.

Anakin escorted his children, sister, and future son-in-law out of his office and to the turbolift. “Because the senator of Onderon has been asking about you for the past four years. You know, the kid that you fell in love with back in the Clone Wars?”

“Master!” Ahsoka exclaimed, doing her species’ version of blushing.

“What was his name? Lux Bonteri?”

“Mas- _ter!”_

“Maybe you can have a triple wedding, with Han and Leia, and Luke and Mara!”

“Dad!” Leia hit him in the ribs. “Han and I are…barely official. Barely!”

Luke blushed furiously. “I don’t want a triple wedding! Mara doesn’t even like me!”

Han had his hand cupped over his pocket, where Anakin knew he had an engagement ring hidden. He’d asked for his blessing several weeks ago after Han and Leia had almost died helping destroy Exar Kun. And Anakin didn’t need the Force to know that Mara had been staring at and sighing over Luke for over a year.

Anakin smiled. “Sure, kids. Sure.”

_And they all lived (mostly) happily ever after._

**The End**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so we come to the end! It's been an interesting journey from the one-shot this was supposed to be into an actual fic! I'm not sorry for resolving forty years of conflict in just four years. Sometime after this, maybe Anakin'll stumble upon the future Darth Krayt and save his great-great-great-grandkids from misery as well. I know it should be "she and Luke", but the mistake is intentional. Do the Yuuzhan-Vong resemble lizards? I don't know. I, frankly, don't care all that much. It's been a fun ride, and thanks to everyone who took it with me!  
> The journey begins, so go! And may the Force be with you!

**Author's Note:**

> I don't exactly have a laid-out plan for this story, but I do have another chapter in the works right now. Hopefully, I won't go too long between updates.


End file.
